Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has warned that financial constraints should not prevent government from meeting its obligations on infrastructure development, amid growing pressure from the Ministry of Works and Transport for additional funding and the full release of budgeted money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musasizi made the remarks on Monday, November 9, 2026, during a meeting with the top management of the Ministry of Works and Transport, where discussions centred on the sector’s persistent financing gaps, budget priorities and delays affecting infrastructure projects across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting comes at a time when Uganda faces competing demands on public resources, with the government expected to finance major road, bridge and transport infrastructure projects while operating within increasingly tight fiscal limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Ministry of Finance, Musasizi said transport infrastructure remains a critical driver of economic growth and a key enabler of the country’s anchor sectors of Agro-industrialisation, Tourism, Mineral Development and Science, Technology and Innovation (ATMS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he cautioned that the country’s financial limitations require more disciplined planning and prioritisation of infrastructure investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The fiscal constraint should not stop government from meeting its obligations,” Musasizi said, insisting that proper planning for the next financial year should be informed by a comprehensive analysis of the Works and Transport sector’s budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His remarks suggest that government intends to scrutinise infrastructure spending more closely, with priority given to projects considered critical to national development rather than spreading limited resources across competing commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister of Works and Transport Fred Byamukama, who led the ministry’s technical team, used the meeting to press the Ministry of Finance to mobilise additional resources for the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Byamukama also called for the timely and full release of funds already approved in the national budget, arguing that budget allocations alone are insufficient if the money does not reach implementing agencies as scheduled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He specifically asked the Ministry of Finance to ensure that budgeted funds are fully released every quarter as planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The demand highlights one of the persistent challenges facing Uganda’s infrastructure development programme: the gap between approved budgets and actual cash releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delayed or inadequate releases can disrupt project implementation, affect contractors’ payment schedules and undermine government timelines for completing critical infrastructure investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Works Ministry, therefore, the challenge is not simply securing bigger budget allocations but also ensuring that approved resources are made available when required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting also examined land compensation and the enforcement of road reserves, two longstanding obstacles to infrastructure development in Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Land acquisition and compensation disputes have frequently complicated the implementation of road projects, with construction sometimes delayed by unresolved property claims, disagreements over valuations and difficulties securing access to project sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The officials discussed possible mitigation measures, including enforcing the right of way to ensure that infrastructure projects are not unnecessarily delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Securing land before construction begins is particularly important for major road projects, where unresolved compensation matters can create costly implementation bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussions point to a broader recognition that infrastructure financing challenges extend beyond the availability of money. Weak project preparation, land acquisition disputes and implementation delays can also increase the cost of delivering public infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting was attended by Ministers of State for Works and Transport Siraj Musa Ali and Transport Minister Julius Maganda Wandera, alongside Deputy Secretary to the Treasury Patrick Ocailap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the Ministry of Finance has not disclosed how much additional funding the Works and Transport Ministry is seeking, the discussions expose the pressure facing government as it attempts to sustain infrastructure development amid competing expenditure priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musasizi’s emphasis on prioritising critical projects signals that not every infrastructure project may receive the funding required for implementation at the pace initially anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Ministry of Works and Transport, the immediate test will be translating the discussions into increased financing, predictable quarterly releases and faster resolution of land compensation disputes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, Uganda’s infrastructure ambitions will depend not only on how much government allocates in its annual budgets, but also on whether those allocations are released on time and whether projects are efficiently implemented.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has warned that financial constraints should not prevent government from meeting its obligations on infrastructure development, amid growing pressure from the Ministry of Works and Transport for additional funding and the full release of budgeted money. Musasizi made the remarks on Monday, November 9, 2026, during a meeting with the top […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27987,"featured_media":44354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[7215,10923,119],"class_list":["post-44353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-henry-musasizi","tag-uganda-infrastructure-financing","tag-uganda-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27987"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44355,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44353\/revisions\/44355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}