CAN THOSE WORKING ON THE 2012/13 NATIONAL BUDGET GET PRIORITIES RIGHT?

The prayer for the common person in Uganda will remain that those planning and budget for the country get the priorities right, short of that, the destiny of the country is in balance. William Kituuka Kiwanuka MPs Decry Finance Ministry Budget Reduction By Jumah Nsubuga Members of parliament seating on the House committee of social services chaired by workers MP Sam Lyomikyi have expressed dissatisfaction to the ministry of finance about the reduction of Health ministry budget for the up coming financial year 2012/2013. The angry legislators however threatened not to approve the Health ministry budget unless the ministry of finance increase the Health budget as the ministry needs it. The ministry of finance reduced the ministry of health budget for the coming financial year by 8% This came after Mps discovered that the ministry of health budget was reduced from 814.3 billion shillings to 761.66 billion shillings in the financial year 2012/13. Appearing before the committee, the minister of Health Dr. Christine Ondoa said that the ministry of health budget was cut by the ministry of finance due to reduction of donor funding to this ministry and due to some donor projects coming to an end. Ondoa told legislators that the ministry of finance has refused to increase her ministry budget for 2012/2013 financial year. Legislators on the House committee also observed that donor funding to the ministry of health was cut to 5.4 billion shillings from 19.5 billion shillings. The members of parliament who included Sylvia Namabidde from Mityana, Ngora woman member of parliament Jacklin Amongin , Lematia Ondoru Maracha , Dr lulume Bayiga from Buikwe and Franca Akello from Agago asked the ministry of finance to add more funds on the ministry of health budget because its needed to respond to increase on disease outbreak and improving health sector. The angry lawmakers also wondered how the budget of the ministry of health was cut by 8% when the world demands for the budget to be at 15% to meet the MDG by 2015. The ministry of Health wanted 814.32billion shillings for the 2012/13 financial year to enable the ministry to reconstruct all hospitals across the country, increasing Health workers saralies,recruiting health workers in various health centres cross to the country,accomplition of cancer institutes among others but the ministry of Finance gave them only 761.66 a deduction of 8%.