There have been huge budgets that have been approved by the Ugandan parliament due to the Covid outbreak. A supplementary budget on Shs 292 billion has been approved and this includes the 18.5 billion needed for the Covid 19 vaccine as an advance payment for 18 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for 9 million Ugandans. There is 31 Million that was approved by the health minister for the purchase of face masks along with 28 billion for the purchase of ambulances, 43 billion for the electoral commissions to clear arrears for the biometric voter verifications machines used in the newly concluded general election.
It was on Tuesday that the parliament differed its clearance of the funds after a disagreement by the MPs in the case of 12.1 billion request under the ULC (Ugandan Land Commission) to settle the outstanding amount of compensation for 6 beneficiaries. The contention followed a letter by ULC chairperson, Beatrice Byenkya Nyakaisiki who raised a red flag on the approval of funds saying that her commission was not privy to the list of beneficiaries. It was Patrick Isiagi from the parliament budget committee vice chairperson who reported on Thursday that the standoff between the ministry of land and the ULC has come a resolution and the list of beneficiaries have been accepted and acknowledged.
Isiagi went on to recommend that parliament approve the funds and despite the resistance from a section of MP’s led by Dokolo Woman Mp Cecilia Ogwal the funding has got the approval from majority of the MPs. Some of the beneficiaries on the list include Kasiya Rwabukurukuru with land at Kiyunga, Sheema (Shs 6.43 billion), Stephen Peter Nagenda of Kibale, Rwanswa (Shs 1.06 billion) and Julius Busuulwa of Buyaga in Kibaale (Shs 1.4 billion). Others are Natalia Namuli (Shs 1.6 billion), Yisaka Lwakana (Shs 125.3 million) and Mugisha Geoffrey (1.49 billion), all with land at Buyaga, Kibaale.
Apart from the land compensation funds the parliament also approved 10.4 billion for the Uganda National Examination board as an additional cost have the exams during this pandemic, there was also a 7.6 billion compensation to Dodoviko Mwanje and a 3.8 billion compensation to Medard Kiconco for their land that one is being used for a church and another where there are about 100 families.
Under the state’s house the parliament approved the request of 2.27 billion to get the Anti – tick Vaccine development initiative started, the Ugandan cancer institute also gets 1.28 billion to pay of outstanding payments. The approval of this 292 billion supplementary budget for the financial year 2020/2021 comes after earlier supplementary approvals by parliament worth Shs 4.224 trillion mainly towards the Covid-19 pandemic response last year.
