How Uganda will save $270m by merging redundant agencies

The Government of Uganda is likely to save close to Ush1 trillion ($270m) after cabinet took a bold decision to merge, scrap or realign duties and responsibilities of its agencies, commissions and statutory authorities.

Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister for ICT and National Guidance, told the media in Kampala that this was done to eliminate functional ambiguities, duplications and overlaps among Government Institutions and to eliminate wasteful expenditures in Agencies, Commissions and Authorities.

This was with a view to allocating those resources to other priority areas for socio-economic development of the country.

It is understood that these agencies, commissions and statutory authorities, which some will go under the direct control of line ministries, guzzle up to 37% of the national budget. This translates to over Ush10 trillion of the Ush32.703 trillion budget for the financial year 2018/19.

“This measure is aimed at harmonizing wages between employees of Agencies, Commissions and Authorities and traditional Public Service in order to improve motivation of Public Officers.

“It also targets streamlining the legal and institutional frameworks to ensure the retained Agencies, Commission and Authorities are well aligned and more accountable to the citizens and mainstream Government Ministries,” said Tumwebaze.

Tumwebaze said however that the Cabinet recommendations will not be effected until the Acts of Parliament, which set up the entities have been amended or repealed.

“The process of repealing and amending the legal frameworks of the affected institutions has already been set in motion,” he told the media.

The merging, scrapping or alignment of duties for these agencies will see the government saving over Ush1 trillion, since majority have been receiving their funding from the National Resource Envelop.

Few of them generate their own funding like the Uganda Wildlife Authority, hence making it very easy for the Government to merge, Scrap or align them.

It is calculated that all the 67 agencies listed below are galloping close to Ush12 trillion together with their mother ministries per year in regards to expenditures.

This year, Uganda’s  Parliament approved budget estimates for the 2018/2019 financial year with Recurrent Expenditure at shs9.4 trillion, development expenditure at shs13 trillion and statutory expenditure at shs10 trillion.

It means that Ush19.4 trillion was passed in Uganda’s Budget as expenditure on government officials of which Ush10 trillion was passed to cater for salaries and allowances payment for government officials currently in the merged, scrapped or aligned entities.

What the saved $270 million can do for Uganda.

The saved Ush1trillion ($270 million) can construct half of the 51km Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, whose construction figure is estimated at $476 million.

It can also construct a fully-fledged international airport for Uganda, buy 7 Bombardier Canadian Jets CRJ 900 series, construct 80% of a power project like Isimba Dam or construct 5 National Referral Hospitals of Mulago Kiruddu Hospital size.

The money can as well be used to tarmac at least 30 kilometres of Municipality Roads in Uganda per year at even an inflated cost of $9.2 million per kilometre.

Entities to be merged, scrapped or duties aligned

1. Uganda National Roads Authority
2. Transport Licensing Board
3. Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited
4. Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited
5. Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited
6. Rural Electrification Agency
7. National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board
8. Departed Asians Property Custodian Board
9. Uganda Trypanosomiasis Control Council
10. Dairy Development Authority
11. Uganda Coffee Development Authority
12. Uganda Cotton Development Organization
13. Uganda Livestock Industries Limited
14. Uganda Seeds Limited
15. National Identification and Registration Authority
16. NGO Registration Board
17. National Information Technology Authority
18. Uganda Aids Commission
19. Uganda Blood Transfusion Services
20. Uganda Land Commission
21. Insurance Regulatory Authority
22. Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority
23. Uganda Investment Authority
24. Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority
25. Enterprise Uganda Foundation Ltd
26. Uganda Free Zones Authority
27. Uganda Exports Promotions Board
28. Uganda Wildlife Education Centre Trust
29. Uganda Tourist Board
30. Uganda Wildlife Authority
31. Uganda Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
32. National Council for Higher Education
33. National Curriculum Development
34. Directorate of Industrial Training
35. National Animal Genetic Resource Centre and Data Bank
36. National Agricultural Research Organization
37. Uganda Cancer Institute and Uganda Heart Institute
38. Virus Research Institute
39. National Chemotherapeutic Research Institute and Joint Clinical Research Institute
40. Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council
41. Allied Health Professional Council
42. Medical and Dental Practitioners Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda
43. National Population Council
44. Economic Policy and Research Centre
45. National Physical Planning and Metropolitan Physical Planning Authority
46. Public Service Commission
47. Health Service Commission
48. Education Service Commission
49. Non-performing Assets Recovery Trust
50. Non-Performing Assets Recovery Tribunal
51. Uganda Energy Credit and Capitalization Company Ltd
52. The Uganda Ware House Receipt System Authority
53. Amnesty Commission
54. Uganda Commodities Exchange
55. National Citizenship and Immigration Control
56. Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution
57. Uganda Registrations Services Bureau
58. National Records and Archives Agency
59. National Agricultural Advisory Services
60. Uganda Atomic Energy Council
61. Electricity Disputes Tribunal
62. Students Financing Board
63. National Library of Uganda
64. National Forestry Authority
65. Uganda National Metrological Authority
66. National Roads Safety Boards
67. Uganda Road Fund

BY PAUL TENTENA