CSBAG BUDGET NEWS BRIEF

60
th
EDITION |30
th
June -6
th
July 2014
...advocating for people centered budgets that dignifies humanity

A glance at the presidency budget beyond the 'salary typo

Commissions were renewed. Five (05) government
offices in Abim, Amuru, Buvuma, Kamuli and Otuke
Districts were completed. The population was
mobilized towards peace and stability, poverty
reduction and development; and logistical support
was provided to Cabinet in the formulation,
determination and implementation of Government
policy.






Patriotism training programs were conducted;
three national days celebrated and the offices of
RDCs / DRDCs re-tooled. In the same vein,
necessary logistical support was provided for the
welfare and security of H.E the President and H.E
the Vice President as well as their immediate
families.

The national response to HIV/AIDS scourge was
coordinated especially through enlisting support
from cultural and other Institutions; while the
National Ethical Values Policy was approved and
launched.

In a bid to strengthen the monitoring of the
implementation of government programs and
projects, the Presidency organized one
induction/orientation workshop for all Resident
District Commissioners and their Deputies and a
number of resolutions were made aimed at
improving capacity to enforce better service
delivery. New Boards and Committees were
appointed.

A new Board of Directors was constituted for the
Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation; while
the Presidential Awards Committee was renewed
within and abroad. All the above performance
outputs are closely related to other government
functions. The case of duplication is getting
evidence.



CSBAG has done a snapshot
analysis of the Ministerial
Policy Statement FY 2014/1
of the Presidency with an
aim of helping our readers
understand its expenditure
priorities.

This week the media was awash with reports of the
hefty salaries for some State House staff that was
reported to be as high as Ushs 96m. This came
after. A report by the Uganda Independent reveals
that for the financial year 2014/15, State House will
spend Shs 10 billion on wages, up by 44.9percent
from Shs 6.9 billion in 2014/15 while in the same
period in review, presidential donations will
increase to 90.6biilion from Shs 80.6 billion and Shs
36 billion from Shs 18
billion for classified expenditure.
Its important to note that the vote functions for this
office are among those that donors seldom fund
implying that they are financed by the tax payers
money and for that reason the expenditures under
here ought to be looked at with great care in order
to determine Value for Money as well as identify
expenditures that can be avoided under the sector.

Presidency comprises of the Office of the President,
State House, Uganda AIDS Commission, Ethics and
Integrity and External Security Organization. For the
financial year 2014/15, the five votes under the
presidency are set to receive a total of Ushs
311.584bn. Ushs 289.434bn is recurrent and Ushs
22.041bn is development expenditure. Of this, State
House is receiving the biggest share totaling to
Ushs 249.8bn (80%) of the total allocation while the
Office of the President is the second highest
recipient set to receive Ushs 38.8b (12 %.) This is
best illustrated in the image below of what each
vote is set-to receive both for recurrent and
development expenditures.

State House Performance for the FY 2013/14
The major accomplishments registered during the
FY 2013/14 covered the broad areas of leadership
and patriotism development; strengthening the
monitoring of implementation of government
programmes and projects; supporting policy
formulation; enhanced coordination of the national
response to HIV/AIDS, and provision of security to
Ugandans within and outside the country. The
mandates of the Board of the Uganda AIDS

Produced by the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG).
Vubya close, Ntinda Nawaka Stretcher Road| P.O BOX 660, Ntinda Fixed line +256 755202154 |website: www.csbag.org, Email: csag@csbag.org
functions. The case of duplication is getting
evidence.

Office of the President
A quick look at Office of the President reveals that
its allocation is to slightly increase from UGX 36bn
in 2013/14 to Ushs 38bn in 2014/15. The Wage
recurrent allocation over the three years has grown
from UGX 7.496bn in 2012/13 to Ushs 10.707bn in
2014/15 which is a 42% increase. Development
expenditure for the Office of President over the past
three years has only totaled to UGX 8.75 and the
allocation has not changed from the FY 2013/14 to
2014/15, being held at Ushs 3.494bn.

State House
The State House has a Ushs 249.843bn allocation in
the FY 2014/15; an increase from Ushs 47.61bn
allocated FY 2013/14. Major allocation is for
development expenditure which has increased from
Ushs 1.625bn in the FY 2013/14 to Ushs 16.925bn in
the FY 2014/15.

By March 2014, State House budget performance
was at 81%. Though impressive, there are some
issues of budget indiscipline observed where 293%
over expenditure was noted. Although the
development expenditure of this vote function had
an approved budget of Ushs 1.6bn in F 2013/14 the
actual expenditure was Ushs 6.4bn, which was way
above the approved total budget FY 2013/14.

Another issue of contention is the existence of a
Trade, Tourism & Investment under the state house
which is clear indication of duplication of the work
of the other government entities. More so, it is
noted that Ushs 5.9bn was budgeted for this VF
output and over UGX 5.5bn was spent without
commensurate outputs. No value for money was
realized.

The most disturbing expenditure in State House
included that of Garden Maintenance which cost the
state Ushs 212.4mn per month in FY 2013/14.

Ushs 212m
Spent on Garden Maintenance at State House per
month in FY 2013/14
Hon Cecilia Ogwal on 8
th
July 2014 raised a concern in Parliament that some staff in the Office of the President earn
96m a month as salary while quoting the 2014/15 Ministerial Policy Statement of the Presidency.
Over Ushs 6bn
Spent on State House Development expenditure
although only Ushs 1.6bn had been allocated in 2013/14
By March 2014








































Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG)
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| E-mail: csbag@csbag.org |Web www.csbag.org | @CSBAGUGANDA CSBAG/Facebook.com



Budget news that made headlines in the media
MTN Hikes Mobile Money Withdrawal Fees
MTN Mobile Money users will now be paying 10% more on withdrawals following an increment in charges. In a notice issued
today, the withdrawal charges are now at a minimum of 330 Uganda Shillings from 300 Uganda Shillings. Depending on the
amount one is withdrawing either from an agent or an ATM; the fees are up by 10percent. Read more>>>
Shilling continues to depreciate as BoU intervenes
The Ugandan Shilling has exhibited its weakest stance since the beginning of the year, a situation experts predict will continue
all through the month. By close of business yesterday, Bank of Uganda (BoU) quoted the Shilling at 2,650 buying and 2,660
selling against the US dollar, down from Tuesdays 2,646/2,656 and 2,600/2,610 it traded two weeks ago. Read more>>>

Government moves to curb fake agro-inputs

Government has set up a department in the agriculture ministry as one of the measures to counter the rampant sale of fake
seeds and agro-inputs in the market. Joseph Bazaale, the commissioner for crop protection in the ministry of agriculture said
that the new department of crop inspection and certification will assist in fighting agro-input counterfeit. Read More>>>

Uganda shilling falls as giants repatriate profits
The Uganda shilling retreated to within touching distance of a 17-month low last week, weighed down by the shipment abroad
of profits by foreign-based multinationals such as mobile phone operator MTN and banking giant Stanbic. On Thursday, the
shilling had dropped to 2,667 for each dollar, taking it close to its February 2013 low of 2,670 per dollar, according to data
sourced from Thomson Reuters. Read more>>>


Why are Shs20m earners angrier at Shs96m salary than 250k
earners?
They are annoyed that there are people earning more than them, concluded my maid. They thought they are the top earners
in Uganda now that someone beats them, they are jealous. Wamma tebatukooya. Read more>>>
The 2014/15 Presidency Budget.
Interesting Budget Items in the Presidency Ministerial Policy Statements

2.089bn
6m
0
80bn
6.8m
3.886 bn
60bn
349bn
90bn
11.3bn
Special Meals Other Utilities Cleaning and
Sanitation
Donation Transport and
Equipment
2013/14 2014/15