2023/2024 budget: Mpuuga pledges to support social protection funding drive
KAMPALA-The Leader of Opposition in Parliament [LoP], Mathias Mpuuga has committed to supporting efforts geared towards funding social protection in the 2023/2024 national budget.
This was during a meeting where the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Social Protection [UPFSP] presented its Position Paper on the National Budget Framework Paper [NBFP] for financial year 2023/2024, which shows government will spend Shs 50 trillion.
“I want to promise that I will be part of the lobbying. Not as a matter of choice but as a matter of duty. This is a duty to which I cannot divorce myself and I will be actively involved,” Mpuuga said.
The budget according to Mpuuga is a reflection of people’s aspirations and frustrations.
“This NBFP is a blind object. We can have a small resource envelope but it must be purposed,” he said, adding that the country is actually witnessing ‘increased recruitment into and not out of social vulnerability’.
He said there is a need for an elaborate meeting that will include the speakers and the budget team to bring this to the fore. ‘The money for Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment [SAGE] should be part of the first call for the budget. This is the right time for us to impact on this question.”
“We need to develop consensus of the leaders first. Once that consensus is built, we can achieve our purpose. We must commit the Ministry of Finance to fund social protection before the budget is passed,” the LoP said.
While presenting the Forum’s Position Paper, UPFSP chairperson, Flavia Kabahenda Rwabuhoro, noted that Shs 120.7 billion that has been provided for SAGE in the NBFP is largely administration costs and that too would an underfunding.
“It is as if we had been on a drip when the SAGE programme was being supported by donors. Now that they are out, we are in distress and the programme at risk of closure,” Kabahenda.
As a matter of Policy and ensuring budget efficiency, she noted that there is a need to have local procurements, especially for food items going to remand homes and other institutions for the vulnerable.
“The idea of procuring food items from Kampala to the different institutions for vulnerable groups across the country is not only costly but also a window for fraud. The transport costs are most times higher than the items being delivered,” the MP said.
Additionally, UPFSP’s advocacy advisor, Jacob Opolot emphasised the need to have issues of social protection primary to the budget rather than accidental additions. Social Protection he argues features in the manifestos of the different political parties, which shows its relevancy to national development.
In her submission, the Shadow Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Fortunate Rose Nantongo indicated that the shadow cabinet is ready to take on this matter and it will feature as one of the priority areas in their budget.
“This is a matter that concerns everyone. We are all candidates for social protection. It is time for MPs to stand up and have government deliver on its role. MPs have become a gov’t in their constituencies, yet this is something we cannot afford,” she said.
The meeting was part of the UPFSP’s advocacy engagements for social protection in the Budget for financial 2023/2024.
The proposed budget will be financed through domestic revenue equivalent to Shs 28.8trn, budget support amounting to Shs2.4 trn, domestic borrowing Shs 1.6trn and external project support of Shs 8trn.
The other sources are, domestic refinancing of Shs 8.7trn and local revenue for local government of Shs 238.5bln.
Government’s key priorities are starting the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway and finalisation of the rehabilitation of the Meter Gauge Railway under the Integrated Transport programme.
Government also intends to invest in small-scale solar-powered irrigation as well as addressing climate change and food security under the Agro Industrialisation Programme.
The other priorities are constructing power service stations and transmission lines under the Sustainable Energy Development programme and capitalisation of Uganda Development Bank [UDP] and Uganda Development Corporation [UDC]to continue supporting private sector development, recovery and economic transformation under Private sector development.
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