By Moses Kyeyune
Business in the Budget Committee of Parliament has stalled with MPs covered in disagreements, as to whether directly absorb an addendum of one trillion, without having it scrutinized by sectorial committees.
The stand-off comes two days to the Thursday deadline when the committee was expected to present the budget to Parliament for final appropriation.
According to national budget timelines, the committee was supposed to have tabled the revised estimates on May 15, but due to unexpected mishaps, the deputy speaker Jacob Oulanyah, extended the deadline to Thursday 23, 2019.
Parliament is by law under the Public Finance Management Act, 2015 mandated to debate and pass the budget by May 30.
With a new stand-off arising from fresh budgetary requests in a corrigendum, the Committee remains stranded, since it will have to go through yet another process of scrutiny by sectoral committees.
The budget as presented to Parliament was shs 39.5 trillion, but with a corrigendum, it is expected to rise to shs 40.5 trillion, the highest in President Museveni’s 34 year rule.
The addendum is also yet to be officially presented to MPs save for a copy submitted to the Office Clerk.
One of the items included is a shs 105b request for a digital stamp and e-system for the Uganda Revenue Authority.
A section of MPs argued that it would be wrong for the Committee to process a corrigenda that is yet to be tabled, yet still, it has not gone through the responsible committee on Finance.
