The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Parliament has increased the budget for Uganda Road Fund-URF from 36 billion shillings to 507.4 billion shillings.
The decision was based on a recommendation in the physical infrastructure committee report on the need to reinstate the Fund’s budget to over 500 billion shillings as in the 2018/2019 budget.
The committee was irked that ministry of finance drastically reduced the budget of the Fund through a policy shift of releasing funds for road maintenance directly to the implementing agencies effective next financial year.
The policy shift, according to the committee report, is arbitrary and would, therefore, strip the URF of its mandate to enhance the national and district road maintenance as provided for in the Uganda Road Fund Act, 2008.
Committee chairperson, Robert Kafeero Ssekitoleko told the House that the policy shift also accounts for the 93 percent budget cut to the Road Fund.
Therefore, the Road Fund was projected to spend its total budget of 36 billion shillings on executing 46 percent construction works for the URF office block, finance low-cost sealing of 26km in 26 town councils and support technical support units created in 25 selected local governments.
Ssekitoleko says the committee opposed the budget cut and therefore rejected the policy shift.
The Minister of State for Planning, David Bahati attended the sitting when the committee presented its report and recommendations. He, however, did not explain why the ministry had made the policy shift.
The Deputy Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah, however, reminded Bahati on the pertinence of issues concerning the Road Fund. He also asked Ssekitoleko to explain the Road Fund Budget cut.
Ssekitoleko explained that the Road Fund budget reduction amounts to 507 billion shillings which the committee says must be reallocated to URF.
He says that the 507.4 billion shillings for road maintenance should be reallocated from Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Uganda National Roads Authority (312.5 billion shillings) and 164.4 billion shillings from local governments.
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