Security budget to reduce by UGX 700b in 2020/21 financial year

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The budget allocated to the security sector will reduce by a massive 757 billion shillings in the 2020/21 financial year.

According to National Budget Framework paper detailing government planned expenditure for next year, security will receive 2.9 trillion shillings down from 3.6 trillion shillings it received in the current year.

The budget will increase again to above Shs 3 trillion in 2021/22 financial year. Three agencies operate under the security sector: Office of the President, Ministry of Defense, and External Security Organization.

The reason for the cut is the fact that donors have not given money to the sector, an indicator many could be stepping away from one of the critical sectors of the country’s stability.

For instance, in the 2019/20 financial year, government had anticipated it would receive Shs 362 billion from external funding, but by the end of September, it had received nothing.

While putting estimates for 2020/21, government decided not to factor in money from donors hence the fall in the budget for the sector.

The sector will use the balance of the money to procure classified equipment, according to the statement. The statement also says they will acquire signal and medical equipment.

Government will also develop and maintain air force infrastructure, including the radar system, Nakasongola airbase core infrastructure putting fire station, control tower, hangars, aircraft landing and navigation equipment.

Also, next financial year government will construction of External Security Organisation (ESO) and Internal Security Organisation (ISO) headquarters and field offices.

In the New Year message, President Museveni indicated funding was never a problem for security. He said, “crime had gone up mainly because of the corruption and laxity in the Police force and the other security agencies.”

He added: “There was also the historical under-equipping of the Police.  When, earlier on, I addressed Parliament on the 20th of June, 2018, I laid out the 12 points of handling crime. Some of the steps outlined in that speech have been worked on ─ especially some aspects of the cameras and the finger-printing of the guns.”

Money for Uganda Police comes from another sector – Justice, Law and Order.

In the past year, Uganda invested heavily in security cameras as a key security infrastructure.

On the Ugandan borders, while South Sudan, DRC and Sudan have internal issues – there are no serious threats to merit massive raise in the sector budget.

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