KWANIA –The district local council has allocated Shs 89,378,000 million to run cooperatives next financial year. The money will go to the 14 fully registered Saccos in the Northern district, and 917 Village Saving Associations (VSLA).
According to the draft budget presented before the council on April 19 2021 by the Secretary of Finance and Administration Geoffrey Eling Owera, Shs 89m was allocated under Trade, Industry, and Local Economic Development.
The money, according to Eling, will cater for market linkage services, cooperatives mobilization, and outreach services.
About Shs 2.9bn has been allocated to production and marketing, Shs 669m to statutory bodies, finance (Shs 216m), and administration (Shs1.7bn), while Shs 280m went to natural resource, community-based services got Shs172m, water and sanitation (Shs 582m) and Shs 967m was allocated to works and technical services among other sectors.
The draft budget was consequently deferred to the sectoral committee for scrutiny before the final approval in the subsequent council sitting as directed by Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi.
The district, however, has a shortfall of about Shs 4bn in 2021/2022. In the financial year 2021/2022, the district projected to raise about Shs 24.5b down from Shs 28.6 billion projected last financial year.
Geoffrey Eling Owera, the finance secretary, blamed the shortfall on the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted local government revenue. Eling told the council that the district only managed to raise 20 percent in local revenue in the last F/Y interrupted by Covid-19.
Eling said key stakeholders and district leaders have to lobby for more funding to improve service delivery.
“Mr. Speaker, as leaders and stakeholders in the district, it is our full responsibility to mobilize for more funding from donors through lobbying and advocacy, this calls for concerted efforts for the wellbeing of the people of Kwania district,” he added.
Albina Awor, the chief administrative officer of Kwania, blamed the budget shortfall on the change of the Indicative Planning Figure (IPF) and a ban on charcoal burning and transportation, a major source of local revenue.
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