Civil Societies commend finance ministry on transparency

Civil Society Groups have commended the ministry of finance over what they called improved budget transparency.

The Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) coordinator Julius Mukunda commended the ministry for always availing to Ugandans the entire budget-related information which enables them to monitor the utilization of public funds.

Dr. Arthur Bainomugisha from Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) said following directives from the ministry of finance, six out of every 10 districts they surveyed displayed budget information. 

A strong connection between the citizens and local governments, revamping of the budget website which eased access to budget information were the other measures the civil society groups pointed out as indicators of increased budget transparency.

The groups made the remarks today during a press conference on the money (sh5.7trillion) released to various government entities for the first quarter of the new financial year.

Muhakanizi boasted that because of the good finance laws and policies initiated by the ministry of finance, Uganda was ranked by the Global Open Survey Index as the second-best country in budget transparency after South Africa on the African continent.