Kwania prepares for budget shortfall in FY 2021/2022

Kwania, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  Kwania district local government is most likely to experience a budget shortfall in the next F/Y 2021/2022. The council has come out with draft budget estimated at 24.5billion shillings, but in the last F/Y 2020/21, the council approved a budget of 28.6b billion shillings.

The 2020/21 budget breakdown indicates that 10.7million shillings was allocated for Education, shs37million to Production and Marketing, 1.8billion shillings for administration, Trade and Industry got shs109m while 1 billion shillings was allocated for Road and Engineering, among other sectors totaling to 28.6billion shillings.

However, in a draft budget presented before the council on Monday by the Finance Secretary Geoffrey Eling, the budget has dropped from 28.6 billion shillings to 24.5 billion shillings. Where Shs89m was allocated under Trade, Industry and Local Economic Development.

2.9 billion shillings has been allocated under Production and Marketing, 669 billion shillings under Statutory Bodies, Finance shs216 million shillings, and Administration 1.7 billion shillings, while shs280million shillings under Natural Resource, Community Based Services shs172 million shillings, Water and Sanitation shs582 million shillings and shs967million shillings allocated under Works and Technical Services among sectors.

The draft budget was consequently deferred to Sectorial Committee for scrutiny before the final approval in the subsequent council sitting as directed by the Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi.

Geoffrey Eling Owera, the Finance Secretary attributes the budget shortfall to Covid-19 pandemic which affected local government revenue. Eling told council that the district only managed to raise 20% of local revenue in the last F/Y interrupted by Covid-19.

He asked the key stakeholders and the leaders in the district to lobby for more funding from donors to better service delivery.

Albina Awor, the Chief Administrative Officer of Kwania blames the budget cut to the change of the Indicative Planning Figure (IPF) and a ban set against charcoal burning and transportation, a major source of our local revenue.

However, the Nambieso Sub County councilor Jimmy Emmanuel Okello Ecun, expressed fears that the budget shortfall could affect a number of activities in the district, hence affecting service delivery. Okello wants the district to tap more revenue by widening the revenue base to mitigate the challenge.

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