Uganda’s Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development has been put on the spot for seeking Shs12.1billion in their supplementary budget without the knowledge of the Uganda Lands Commission.
In a Plenary sitting on Tuesday 9th February 2021 Chaired by the Speaker, the Chairperson Budget committee tabled a report on the Supplementary Expenditure Schedule 4 and Addendum 1 and 2 to Schedule 4 for financial year 2020’21.
According to Parliament Watch, the supplementary budget expenditure request amount up to Shillings 292billion under Schedule No.4 amounts to Shillings 94.32 billion on December 18th, 2020, and addendum 1 and 2 requests to Schedule No.4 amounting to Shillings 111.477billion and Shillings 86.597billion respectively.
Legislators were, however, concerned with some of the allocations in the Supplementary budget request by the government. Among the contentious allocations included Shillings 12.1billion request under the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) to settle outstanding compensation under the Land Fund to 6 beneficiaries
The debate on the Shillings 292 billion Supplementary budget request by the government changed after Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga, Mukono South MP brought to the attention of Parliament a letter by the Chairperson ULC, Beatrice Byenkya Nyakaisiki raising a red flag on the approval of Shillings 7.67billion request under the Uganda Land Commission.
Among the beneficiaries of the allocation of Shillings, 12.1billion under the contentious on the list of ULC include Kasiya Rwabukurukuru with land at Kiyunga, Sheema (6.43 billion), Stephen Peter Nagenda of Kibale, Rwanswa (1.06 billion) and Julius Busuulwa of Buyaga in Kibaale (1.4 billion). Others are Natalia Namuli (1.6 billion), Yisaka Lwakana (125.3 million) and Mugisha Geoffrey (1.49 billion), all with land at Buyaga, Kibaale.
In response, to the letter later tabled by Muyanja Ssenyonga, Minister Beti Kamya said that the Uganda Land Commission was not acting in good faith since they had been informed of the allocations.
The response by the Minister of Land, Beti Kamya forced the legislators to suspect even more anomalies in the Supplementary budget request by the government.
MP Elijah Okupa appealed to the Speaker to defer the approval of the Supplementary budget request to a later date, to allow the stakeholders to agree on the contentious issues.
Kadaga directed the Budget Committee to resolve the issue of Uganda Land Commission and report back and stayed the approval of the entire supplementary budget until Thursday 11th February 2021.
