Published on 14/05/2025
Minister of State for Finance, Henry Musasizi, has revealed that the Government plans to compensate the Buganda Kingdom with UGX38.5 billion out of the UGX154 billion owed to the Mengo administration. The payments will be spread over four financial years.
Musasizi made the disclosure while appearing before Parliament’s Budget Committee on May 13, 2025. He had been summoned to respond to queries raised by MPs regarding the draft estimates of revenue and expenditure for the 2025/26 financial year. During the session, Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju sought clarification on a UGX 120 billion allocation intended for compensation to various entities, including Buganda Kingdom.
“Buganda Kingdom — we have provided UGX38.5 billion and we shall split this over four financial years,” said Musasizi.
The compensation stems from an August 2013 agreement between the Government and the Buganda Kingdom, under which several properties previously taken over by the state were returned to the Kingdom. These included 18 county headquarters, Jeza Farm on Mityana Road, Plot 52 on Kampala Road, Mutesa House in London, and other properties such as swamps, forests, lakes, and rivers.
However, Buganda Kingdom has demanded compensation for Mutesa House and Plot 52, which had been sold off by the Government. The properties were originally seized following the abolition of cultural institutions by former President Milton Obote’s regime in 1966.
During the same meeting, Musasizi also announced additional allocations in the 2025/26 budget, including UGX3.95 billion for completing works at the Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine in Namugongo under the Ministry of Works and Transport, and UGX60 billion for promoting coffee growing in Northern Uganda through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
“Under the recurrent budget, UGX10 billion is required as additional financing for coffee seedlings, split into oil seeds and coffee seedlings,” said Musasizi. “For the next financial year, we’ve provided an additional UGX20 billion for coffee inputs—seedlings, hoes, and fertilizers. On top of that, UGX60 billion has been allocated specifically for coffee seedlings in Northern Uganda.”
The announcement coincides with Uganda’s strong coffee export performance. According to the Monthly Coffee Report, Uganda exported 642,981 60-kg bags of coffee in March 2025, generating US$198.62 million (UGX727.08 billion). Of these, 525,220 bags were Robusta worth US$155.53 million, while 117,761 bags were Arabica worth US$43.09 million.
Italy remained Uganda’s top export destination, accounting for 38.43% of the market, followed by India (8.92%), Germany (6.89%), Spain (6.06%), and Sudan (5.72%). In Africa, exports totaled 69,052 bags—11% of the total—up from 53,720 bags (10%) the previous month. Major African importers included Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.
Musasizi also updated the Committee on the Parish Development Model (PDM), reporting that 2.5 million beneficiaries have so far received support under the program. An additional UGX1.5 trillion has been earmarked in the 2025/26 budget to reach households not yet covered.
However, Tororo North MP Geoffrey Ekanya raised concerns about 100 parishes that remain excluded from the PDM rollout.
“It is unfair that you leave out 100 parishes where elections were conducted and which were gazetted by the Ministry of Local Government. These were part of the official list submitted, but the Ministry of Finance, while entering the charter, erroneously left them out. We have raised this issue repeatedly, yet the Ministry remains adamant,” Ekanya said.
