Uganda’s Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, has confirmed the adjustments in the budget and final wage allocations for FY 2024/25.
He said this has been occasioned by the need to balance the budget (revenue and expenditure) for FY 2024/25 in line with the reality of the fiscal consolidation agenda.
In order to fit within the available resources, the Cabinet recently approved downward adjustments of the budget of Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDAs) by Shs 2.766 trillion.
While addressing a press briefing on Q4 expenditure limits for FY 2023/24 at the Ministry of Finance Conference Hall on Friday, Ggoobi said MDAs should prioritise the limited resources to core functions and direct service delivery.
He noted that the priority should go to fixed costs such as utilities and rent and statutory costs such as wages, pension and gratuity.
“We are going to tighten the belts. That is the money we have and every entity must fit within the resource,” said Ggoobi.
According to him, this quarter (April to June), Shs.7.687 trillion has been released representing 30.4% of the government of Uganda budget.
This will bring the total government of Uganda release for FY 2023/24 to Shs.28.564 trillion.
Ggoobi said going forward, the Ministry of Public Service shall close the window for accessing new staff on the payroll system and any new records added shall require prior approval by the ministry upon confirmation of the adequacy of the wage bill.
“Any shortfalls arising from Accounting Officers recruiting staff without authority by the Ministry of Public Service shall be deducted from the unconditional non-wage grant or local revenue to address the resultant funding gap,” he noted.
He urged all Accounting Officers to ensure that they pay wages, salaries, pension and gratuity by the 28th of every month and also prioritize payment of service providers on time and avoid accumulation of arrears.
The Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) Executive Director, Julius Mukunda, applauded the audit of the government of Uganda payroll and welcomed the sanctions on Accounting Officers who have caused financial loss to the government.
He also called upon the government and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) in particular to educate taxpayers, especially the traders about the European Union Fundamental Rights Information System (EFRIS) and other tax obligations.