The Civil Society Finances Advocacy Group (CSBAG) has expressed considerations concerning the authorities’s capability to ship on the bold targets outlined in Uganda’s fourth Nationwide Growth Plan (NDP IV).
The Government Director of CSBAG, Julius Mukunda who appeared earlier than the Finances Committee chaired by Hon. Patrick Isiagi on Wednesday, 08 January 2025 acknowledged that budgetary shortfalls, misaligned priorities, and inefficiencies in implementation are setting the plan up for failure except pressing reforms are undertaken.
The committee is scrutinising the proposals within the draft NDPIV.
Mukunda identified that the NDP IV which outlines a roadmap for Uganda’s improvement over the following 5 years, faces a worrying hole between the proposed funds and the assets required to fulfill its objectives.
For the monetary yr 2025/26, the federal government has allotted Shs57.4 trillion which is in need of the deliberate Shs67.8 trillion.
“Beginning NDP IV with such a big shortfall of Shs10.4 trillion indicators early failure in reaching the specified outcomes,” he mentioned.
He criticised the underfunding of crucial programmes just like the Space-Based mostly Transformative Measures (ATMs) that are central to driving development beneath NDP IV.
“These ATMs are thought of the magic development pillars of the plan, but they’ve been allotted solely Shs2.7 trillion out of the required Shs4.7 trillion. A spot of Shs2 trillion is unacceptable and undermines your entire initiative,” Mukunda added.
Mukunda additionally highlighted discrepancies in useful resource allocation, the place some programmes resembling Growth Plan Implementation and Sustainable Urbanization and Housing have obtained funding exceeding NDP IV estimates.
“This isn’t an indication of extra funding however a mirrored image of poor coordination and uncoordinated allocation of assets,” he famous including that, ’with out correct alignment, we danger fragmented efforts and a divergence from the core targets of the event plan’.
Mukunda burdened that reaching the objectives of NDP IV requires improved coordination amongst authorities companies to make sure that interventions are well-planned and realistically costed.
“We’d like evidence-based costing that displays the supply of assets and the potential outcomes of every programme. Solely then can we make sure that each shilling spent contributes on to Uganda’s transformation agenda,” he mentioned.
He additionally known as for stronger accountability mechanisms to observe how assets are used.
“We should implement accountability in any respect ranges from nationwide companies to native governments to make sure that funds are spent as deliberate and to keep away from waste and corruption,” Mukunda acknowledged.
Mukunda highlighted the nation’s outdated authorized framework which he mentioned doesn’t totally help the programmatic method to budgeting launched in NDP IV.
“The Public Finance Administration Act of 2015 and its accompanying laws nonetheless reference sectoral committees and sector funds framework papers that are incompatible with the brand new method,” he defined.
Mukunda urged Parliament to amend the regulation to formalise programme-based budgeting and restructure its committees to trace outcomes of programmes that span a number of sectors.
Hon. Religion Nakut (NRM, Napak District Girl Consultant) hailed the proposals by CSBAG particularly on penalties for districts that fail to adjust to the NDP stating that it’s going to make them take the objectives critically.
Amolatar District Girl MP, Hon. Agnes Apea mentioned the NDP seems like a venture improvement plan fairly than a improvement plan.
“Within the infrastructure improvement, a plan might have come as an illustration for Northern Uganda stating that for infrastructure and connectivity, we could have a rail right here, these roads join right here…one thing like that, however the plan has cherry selecting,” she mentioned.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
