The Ministry of Finance on Tuesday presented a supplementary budget request of Shs284b to Parliament for the purpose of mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
However, as the Finance Minister Mr Matia Kasaija broke down the details on the floor of Parliament, legislators were irked to learn that out of the entire budget, security sector was taking the lion’s share. Mr Kasaija told the House that Shs81b was going to security while Shs62b was going to the health ministry, causing murmurs among the MPs.
Local Government would receive Shs36b, Disaster Management support for the vulnerable was allocated Shs59b, ICT and National Guidance Shs14b and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Shs30b.
Mr Kasaija, on Tuesday told the House that the Shs62b was what the health sector had asked for but more money would be allocated in due course as they keep monitoring the situation.
“We are obliged to look for money to see how far it ends and consequently I wanted to see how it moves. The health sector asked for Shs62b which is not the full amount, the security people are asking for Shs81b,” Mr Kasaija said.
However, MPs were not about to stomach this as they kept questioning why security was getting more money than the Health Sector which is in dire need of finances, now more than ever, amid the current deadly pandemic. Uganda’s confirmed cases rose to 44 after 11 new cases were registered on March 31.
The latest cases were confirmed on Tuesday evening by President Museveni who said out of the 176 samples taken, 11 turned out positive.
Source: DM
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