'Direct supplementary budget to productive sectors'

By Gloria Nakajubi

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are against the recently tabled supplementary expenditure for the financial year 2012/2013 arguing that it is a misuse of taxpayer’s money unless its priorities are changed.

Under their umbrella coalition of Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG), they stressed that an increment of an amount in form of a supplementary budget by twice the budgeted and approved amount undermines the very essence of the prudent budgeting rendering any economic analysis meaningless.

The Coordinator (CSBAG), Julius Mukunda said supplementary budgeting is sometimes inevitable but these should be for disasters and not recurrent things that keep appearing every year.

“It is so absurd that State House wants more sh138bn at a time when most civil servants like teachers and police officers have gone without pay for more than three months now and their pleas for salary increments have fallen on deaf ears,” Mukunda said.

The members also argue that supplementary budgets not only subject the budget to inefficiency, abuse and misuse but also undermine the budget credibility and the spirit of budget consultation processes.

They said that it would make more sense if the biggest percentage of the supplementary budget is allocated to social and productive areas that directly affect the community since the living conditions is becoming costly for the common person.

 Patrick Tumwebaze, the Executive Director CSBAG, said this is not an action against government but rather a call for more pro people interventions other than just benefitting public administrators who use such funds for personal gains.

He added that the government should strengthen the tax management system and more so intensify the fight against corruption so that money can be made available to finance the different departments and the heavy debt burden that leads to redirecting money meant for other things to finance the debt.

CSOs also want the current Public finance Bill to toughen the procedure of supplementary budgeting spending by ensuring there is no retrospective spending of funds which they argue is increasingly being abused.