Published on 15/05/2025
Parliament has passed the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2025, approving government spending of an additional Shs4.86 trillion to meet urgent and unforeseen expenditure needs above the budget for the Financial Year 2023/2024.
The decision was made during a plenary sitting chaired by Speaker Anita Among on Thursday, 15 May 2025.
The Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on the Budget, Hon. Remigio Achia, who presented the committee report to the House said that the funds are intended to support expenditure that could not have been foreseen during the approval of the main budget.
The supplementary appropriation is in line with provisions of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act.
The funds, already spent under three supplementary schedules in the FY 2023/24, were regularised through this Bill, covering both recurrent and development expenditures.
According to the Bill, government ministries received a total of Shs1.39 trillion. Among them, the Office of the President received Shs396 billion, State House was allocated Shs189 billion, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs got Shs204 billion.
The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development was allocated Shs88.8 billion, while the Ministry of Health received Shs38.6 billion and Ministry of Works and Transport Shs47.3 billion. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development received Shs73.3 billion, alongside other allocations.
A further Shs1.21 trillion was allocated to statutory entities and public institutions. The Science, Technology and Innovation Secretariat received the largest share of this at Shs757 billion, followed by the National Animal Genetic Resource Centre with Shs92 billion. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics was allocated Shs 83.1 billion, National Identity and Registration Authority (NIRA) received Shs 4.2 billion, and Makerere University Shs14.5 billion.
Other beneficiaries included the Uganda Cancer Institute, Uganda Blood Transfusion Services, Uganda Land Commission, Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Uganda Police, Uganda Prisons and referral hospitals such as Arua, Masaka, and Naguru.
Embassies and missions abroad were allocated Shs 836.5 billion to support staff salaries and operational expenses in over 50 foreign missions.
Meanwhile, districts, municipalities, and cities across the country were allocated Shs 2.46 trillion to cater for wage shortfalls, conditional and unconditional grants, and equalisation transfers to facilitate effective service delivery at the local government level.
Hon. Achia emphasised that all the expenditures were within the 3 per cent legal limit of the total approved budget, as required by the Public Finance Management Act, and were consistent with prior parliamentary resolutions.
“In conclusion, the Committee recommends that the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2025 be passed into law,” he said, leading to the House unanimously endorsing the report. The Act takes effect retroactively from 1st July 2023.
Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju (FDC, Kira Municipality) called for the budgeting process to be given more time and not rushed.
