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recommendations will not be effected until the Acts of Parliament, which set up the entities have been amended or repealed.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
- Uganda National Roads Authority
- Transport Licensing Board
- Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited
- Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited
- Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited
- Rural Electrification Agency
- National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board
- Departed Asians Property Custodian Board
- Uganda Trypanosomiasis Control Council
- Dairy Development Authority
- Uganda Coffee Development Authority
- Uganda Cotton Development Organization
- Uganda Livestock Industries Limited
- Uganda Seeds Limited
- National Identification and Registration Authority
- NGO Registration Board
- National Information Technology Authority
- Uganda Aids Commission
- Uganda Blood Transfusion Services
- Uganda Land Commission
- Insurance Regulatory Authority
- Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority
- Uganda Investment Authority
- Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority
- Enterprise Uganda Foundation Ltd
- Uganda Free Zones Authority
- Uganda Exports Promotions Board
- Uganda Wildlife Education Centre Trust
- Uganda Tourist Board
- Uganda Wildlife Authority
- Uganda Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
- National Council for Higher Education
- National Curriculum Development
- Directorate of Industrial Training
- National Animal Genetic Resource Centre and Data Bank
- National Agricultural Research Organization
- Uganda Cancer Institute and Uganda Heart Institute
- Virus Research Institute
- National Chemotherapeutic Research Institute and Joint Clinical Research Institute
- Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council
- Allied Health Professional Council
- Medical and Dental Practitioners Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda
- National Population Council
- Economic Policy and Research Centre
- National Physical Planning and Metropolitan Physical Planning Authority
- Public Service Commission
- Health Service Commission
- Education Service Commission
- Non-performing Assets Recovery Trust
- Non-Performing Assets Recovery Tribunal
- Uganda Energy Credit and Capitalization Company Ltd
- The Uganda Ware House Receipt System Authority
- Amnesty Commission
- Uganda Commodities Exchange
- National Citizenship and Immigration Control
- Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Uganda Registrations Services Bureau
- National Records and Archives Agency
- National Agricultural Advisory Services
- Uganda Atomic Energy Council
- Electricity Disputes Tribunal
- Students Financing Board
- National Library of Uganda
- National Forestry Authority
- Uganda National Metrological Authority
- National Roads Safety Boards
- Uganda Road Fund
BY PAUL TENTENA
