Their was drama on Tuesday as local authorities clashed in a budget meeting in Entebbe.
The local authorities headed by the Mayor Vicent Kayanja Depaul and councilors clashed with the area Mp Rosemary Tumusiime Bikaako over the Ministry of finance, planning and economic development for budgetary down-sizing the 2019/2020 municipal budget. Councilors clashed in the meeting after the ministry failing to approve the 2019/2020 financial budget as expected.
The council approved a total budget of Sh 28.4b of which Sh 20.3b was central government transfers and Sh7.9b as local revenue. However, out of the approved local revenue budget, only Sh3b was approved by parliament and surprisingly only Sh417m was earmarked with no question marks. Mayor Kayanja said that government is frustrating them to lay down tools and added that such amount is way below the approved revenue of Sh 7.999bn. Councilor Godfrey Sendyose revealed that council meetings will remain irrelevant if officials from finance ministry keep undermining council resolutions.
Councilor Margaret Masembe for the elderly proposed that Entebbe municipal council closes it’s offices since it has no budget to run it’s day-today activities. She added that if government doesn’t review the council budget for the financial year 2019/2020, as councilors they will undress next to the State House with no bras and knickers.
A total of 21 councilors and the area member of parliament protested the decision by the Finance Ministry to cut the municipal budget. Councilor Innocent Ssewankambo noted that, integrated financial management system undermines the decentralization system of governance which empowers local governments to generate local revenue. Councilor Annet Balegga proposed that council passes a resolution to select a committee which will be tasked to meet officials from the finance ministry or the parliamentary committee on local government to have the matter resolved.
Hon.Rose Tumusiime bitterly expressed her concern over what she termed as ridiculous budget cut by the ministry of finance and pledged to table the complaint before the floor of parliament on addition to drafting a petition to the speaker as a matter of national importance.(By PEACOCK KAWEESA)
