NCS sitting on a time bomb

By James Bakama

THERE were celebrations recently after it was announced that the sports budget had been doubled. An increment from 5.6b to 11b was indeed big. Stakeholders started warming up for what had all the signs of a new Uganda record.

But a New Vision investigation has revealed that all is not rosy. The sports sector is actually headed for tough times. Save for sh5.8b earmarked for six regional stadia and the national high altitude training center in Kapchorwa, there are only crumbs for sports federations.

While the money National Council of Sports receives for federations was raised from sh480m to sh1.48b, the bitter fact is that the federations will get much less than they have been receiving. The bulk of the sh1.48b is a presidential pledge towards athletics and netball.

UAF has sh414m for preparations for the 2017 World Cross-country Championships. UNF will on the same vote get sh586m for the Sydney World Cup. This in effect leaves the rest of the 54 national bodies under NCS with sh480m.  

The rest of the budget is for other NCS operations and the department of sports. That on many occasions allocations are not received in full is reason for even more fear. NCS General Secretary Jasper Aligawesa said of the sh480m they were entitled to last year, only sh125m was received. 

Matters are not helped by a busy international schedule for many of the sports bodies. There were all signs of a crisis when Sports State Minister Charles Bakkabulindi this week kicked-off a sh1.9b All Africa Games fundraising drive. 

While government has offered sh400m, Bakkabulindi says sh2.3b is required to send a team of 86 people to the Games in Congo Brazzaville. UNF’s World Cup budget had earlier been sliced down from sh1.8b. 

The netballers in the process lost crucial opportunities to feature in a tournament in England and the Africa Championship starting today in Botswana. Basketball governing body FUBA that has to field teams at two African meets is one of those federations uncertain of state funding. 

Uganda’s South Korea bound team for the World University Games has equally been affected. Difficulty in raising the sh423m had the university sports body AUUS appeal to NCS rejected. 

“We don’t have that kind of money. The best we can do is make a contribution of say sh20m,” explained NCS General Secretary Jasper Aligawesa. 

Aligawesa says that to operate comfortably, they require at least sh15b a year. The lean times could see NCS encroaching on its sh1.5b vote for other operations. 

NCS Senior Accountant Muhamadi Baale cites the just concluded financial year where a similar move had them giving FUFA sh150m, netball sh55m and basketball sh25m. 

“Compare that to the sh125m that we actually got for federations.” NCS also refutes Sports Commissioner Omara Apitta’s claim that the renovations of the Lugogo office block was from the ministry budget. 

“That’s not true. The money we used was internally generated through activities like renting out of our facilities,” stressed Aligawesa.

You would imagine that all is well in bodies like UAF. Federation general secretary Beatrice Ayikoru says even the presidential pledge is not enough. 

“We need sh1.6b to get set for the 2017 World meet in Kampala. But they are only giving us sh414m.” 

FUBA need sh1b for the Afro Basket events (men and women) while FUFA need sh3b for Cranes’ qualifiers.