The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has launched the 2026/2027 National Budget Month, ahead of the presentation of the national budget for the next financial year on June 13, 2026. This came with calls for increased transparency, reforms in allocation and expenditure in some areas like parliament and local government, as well as reduced domestic borrowing by the government.
The budget for this year has been compiled under the theme: Full Monetization of Uganda’s Economy through Commercial Agriculture, Industrialization, Expanded Social Services, Digital Transformation, and Market Access. Dr. Ramathan Ggoobi, Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, said the process of preparing the Budget Estimates for financial year 2026/2027 started in July 2025 and involved nationwide consultations with all stakeholders. These include the President; Cabinet; Parliament; civil society; Ministries, Departments and Agencies; Local Governments; development partners; the private sector; academia; community leaders; youth and women groups; PWDs; as well as citizens.
According to the Civil Society, the process has had some positives, though it has not addressed some issues they think are critical. Arthur Bainomugisha, the Executive Director of ACODE (Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment), on his part called for the intensification of the fight against corruption, commending the recent apprehending of some high-ranking officials.
On reports of corruption in parliament, Bainomugisha suggested scruitiny of allocations to parliament and how the monies are utilized are utilized so that the leadership of parliament do not have free access to huge sums of money which tempts them. He also called for increased allocations to the Water for Agriculture projects to counter the dry seasons and also to the local governments to enable them finance economic activities at the lower levels.
PSST Ggoobi says some local governments have done well in utilizing the funds given to them, while many have not. According to him therefore, the issue in not lack of money, but how the money is being utilized. He says reforms targeting especially procurement, the stage where most of the funds are lost, are needed.
Julius Mukunda, the Executive Director, Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) hailed the increasing collaboration between the ministry and the civil society, saying it has increased civic participation and budget transparency.
Mukunda also hailed for the increased allocations especially to the civil service like teachers’ salaries as well as to infrastructure, spots and the road to commercial oil production, as well the generally positive economic growth and stability indicators.
He, however, expressed concern about the consistently high public administration expenditure, urging the government to implement its planned measures in the rationalization of public expenditure, including the scrapping of funding of public events.
Mukunda also urged the government to increase efforts at reducing domestic arrears as well as the high interest rates which are increasingly making the cost of credit unaffordable to the private sector, urging the government to reduce its appetite for borrowing locally.
This, according to him has reduced private sector access to credit and the commercial banks now lending to the government, and in turn affecting the growth of the private sector, especially small and medium enterprises.
Ggoobi assured the country that soon domestic borrowing will reduce as the domestic revenue mobilisation (especially taxes) measures begin to bear fruit. Next year, the government is planning to raise 44.5 trillion shillings in tax revenues which is about 52 percent of the total budget resource envelope.
Ggoobi says, that in addition the expected oil revenues will go a long way in increasing available resources for spending, reducing the need for domestic revenues.
Jane Nalunga, the Executive Director, SEATINI (The Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute) Uganda, hailed the government efforts to attract foreign investors, but added that their contracts should be negotiated to ensure that both the country and the investors benefit.
She has always complained about investors being given incentives to operate in the country, without putting in place checks on issues like labour, profit, the environment, and taxation, among others. She says these should be reviewed.
Nalunga also commended to increase in the budget allocation to agro-industrialisation from 1.8 trillion to 2.26 trillion shillings, but questioned its application, pointing out that even money put into research has not resulted into the dissemination of the resultant technology to help farmers and the sector generally.
Ggoobi says that the government has now combined fertilisers and irrigation promotion into one package under the Revamp Agriculture project. He adds that apart from productivity, many efforts are being put into quality so as the increase Uganda’s market access and market sustainability-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
