On close scrutiny, the three budget lines are similar if not the same. It requested a further UGX3.6 billion for ‘specialised meals’ for suspected patients, then another UGX2 billion for quarantined individuals in other institutions. Of this, the ministry allocated UGX3.2 billion for accommodation and meals of quarantined individuals in hotels. The Ministry of Finance seemingly chose to prioritise other sectors, yet was well aware of the poor state of the health care system The Ministry of Finance seemingly chose to prioritise other sectors, yet was well aware of the poor state of the health care system in Uganda. Thirty-nine districts do not have a hospital.Īlthough the Ministry of Health had requested UGX464 billion from government in order to respond to the pandemic, the Minister of Finance allocated it just UGX 82.5 billion in the request to Parliament. The country has just 48,231 hospital beds, 55 functional intensive care units (ICUs), and 411 functional ambulances for the entire population (as at 2019, Uganda’s population stood at more than 44 million). Uganda’s health sector is seriously under-resourced. This was broken down as detailed in Table 1.Įxchange rate as of 16 July 2020: 1 UGX = USD 0.000271 On 31 March 2020, the government sought a further 284 billion Ugandan shillings (UGX) to cater for the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. There have also been allegations that sectors seeking supplementary budgets, do so to avoid the extensive scrutiny that the annual budget receives. Members of Parliament (MPs) have noted that the situation undermines the planning and budgeting process. Their frequency and size have not gone unnoticed. In March alone, the Government of Uganda presented four supplementary budgets before Parliament. Sectors seeking supplementary budgets do so to avoid extensive scrutiny Supplementary expenditure must be ‘unabsorbable, unavoidable, and unforeseeable.’ Here it is determined whether or not a need has arisen for expenditure not previously budgeted for or for expenditure that exceeds the budgeted sums.
In the Republic of Uganda, Article 156 of the Constitution and Section 25 of the Public Finance Management Act allow supplementary budget estimates to be put before Parliament. The author holds a Master of Law (Commercial Law) from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Law from Makerere University Kampala. Prosscovia Nambatya - Advocate of the High Court of Uganda who keeps a keen eye on public finance and expenditure in Uganda.
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