Contingency fund has sh16 trillion deficit

The contingency fund is itself a contingency. Uganda's contingency fund has only been funded twice in six financial years, analysis by Rama Omonya, Program Adviser at the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) indicates. 

Omonya noted in a keynote presentation at the Policy Influencing Dialogue on "Operationalization of the Contingencies Fund to Strengthen Disaster Risk Resilience in Uganda" that those two times were sh62b in the financial year 2018/19 and sh62b in the financial year 2019/2020.  

Despite that, the contingency fund remained with a sh16 trillion deficit. Uganda's contingency fund was set up by law as a portion of the national budget set aside to cover possible unforeseen future expenses, especially due to natural disasters. 

He noted that the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) had received and settled 258,371 new refugees, issued 1,029 conventional travel documents and 29,235 IDs to refugees using funds from the fund. 

Furthermore, sh200m had been spent on stranded students in Beijing, China during the Covid-19 lockdown. Furthermore, the health ministry had spent sh5b to deal with Covid-19 related responses. 

He noted that ministry of finance needed to fully operationalise the contingencies fund as per section 26 of the Public Finance Management Act 2015 as amended to provide a buffer for a wide range of risks the country faces.  

Francis Shanty Odokorach, the Oxfam Country Director noted that there is a need to recognise that communities are the first responders during disasters. "We need to build capacity for the people in those communities enable resilience and be able to handle disaster shocks," he said. 

He pointed out that the World Disasters Report indicates that 1244 people were killed by disasters between 2006 and 2016 and 4,345,797 people were affected by disasters an 11% increase from the number of those affected between 1993-2005. 

Odokorach said that Uganda is vulnerable to many disasters such as floods, mudslides, epidemics and drought. 

Mukitale Stephen, MP Buliisa County said that Uganda has budget challenges during this COVID-19 period and that there is need for interventions from International donors, especially for challenges to do with refugees and the flooding due to River Nile. 

He noted that closer coordination with indigenous communities through cultural and religious institutions is needed to build resilience. "Life became harder for us the fishing community because, on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are facing flooding that is putting our main source of livelihood (fishing) at stake," Mukitale said. 

Robert Kwesiga, the Secretary-General at Uganda Red Cross Society said that there is a need to interrogate the reasons behind people's failure to trust Government especially when it comes to dealing with disasters such as the landslides. 

He noted that certain seasonal disasters should be planned for, such as floods and droughts and the flooding of River Nyamwamba in Kasese which normally bursts its banks. He argued that this will reduce the costs of dealing with the disaster. 

Kwesiga also said that more needs to be done to provide alternative livelihoods for people impacted by disasters such as landslides and flooding. ""We don't have a robust legal framework on how we manage disasters. We lack an enabling law that apportions responsibilities," he said. 

"The debate about our funding remains a big one and, we continue to say, Government has to chip in because donors and partners have where they stop and so, you can't rely on them," he added, explaining that donor funds come with several restrictions set by their home countries and are short term. 

George Francis Iwa, Chairperson Uganda Humanitarian Platform noted that the frequency and impact of disaster occurrences, especially due to climate change, is increasing and yet the contingency fund is in deficit. 

When a natural disaster strikes, lwa noted that the country starts recovery in negative territory. 

John Ochwo, the Human Aid Officer at the European Union Commission in Uganda said that more needs to be done to decentralize contingency budgets, he argued that district contingency committees should be activated since they understand the risks, they face better than most. 

He noted that the EU has a 72-hour response window for natural disasters and challenged the government to cut back on its lengthy month-long process. 

Jenifer Muhuriza, who is in charge of Treasury Services and Asset Management at the Ministry of Finance noted that the contingency fund is a priority, however, the government is constrained due to an insufficient purse when dealing with several priorities in the national budget. 

"Government needs to implement programs through respective institutions to oversee and direct policy on where we are going. If the disaster affects agriculture, we can go through the Ministry of Agriculture," she said. 

"If the disaster affects roads or bridges, then the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) would be the best institution to work with. We also need to mainstream activities in institutions that can empower communities with skills that enable them to manage disasters," Muhuriza added.   

She noted that there's a process of requisitioning for contingency funds that starts with the accounting officers of the affected area. She said that if anyone in the chain delays, then the whole process delays and sometimes the funds are clawed back into the consolidated fund in accordance with the law.