Kampala – Opposition MP Ibrahim Ssemujju has exposed inconsistencies in the 2024/25 national budget, embarrassing Minister of Finance Matia Kasaija as Parliament passed the UGX 72 trillion budget.
Ssemujju, also the Shadow Minister for Finance, pointed out contradictory figures presented by Kasaija, questioning whether the budget was prepared by a “senior three commerce student”. He highlighted wasteful expenditures worth UGX 5.485 trillion, including unnecessary vehicles and fuel for senior government officials.
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He also wondered whether the age of the top officials managing Uganda’s national budget could explain the confusion that marred the passing of the 2024/25 budget or if this could be a case of absolute incompetence.
“At every stage, Minister of Finance Matia Kasaija has presented different and contradictory figures. In the Budget Framework Paper, the first official Budget document to Parliament in December last year, two ceilings (total budget figures); Shs52.722Trn and Shs54.587Trn were provided. When the real Budget was presented on 28th March 2024, it was as if it had been prepared by juvenile senior three commerce students. The Budget (Draft Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure) presented to Parliament totals Shs60.9Trn,” said Ssemujju.
“President Museveni will celebrate his 80th birthday on 15th September 2024. His Finance Minister Matia Kasaija will celebrate his 80th birthday exactly 72 days after Museveni on 26th November 2024. The two have a combined age of 160. It is understandable why 79 year old Kasaija assigned by 79 year old Museveni to prepare and present the budget, abandoned the work to 43 year old Henry Musasizi Ariganyira. Musasizi was born in 1981, a year after Kasaija had been appointed deputy labour minister,” said Ssemujju.
“Musasizi the representative of these two old men has at every stage and in every budget document, presented different figures, different information, occasionally looking unsure of what he himself is trafficking to the National Assembly. None of the Budget documents is signed by Musasizi yet he is the face of this whole debacle,” added Ssemujju.
The Opposition in their minority report on the 2024/25 Appropriation Bill revealed that Uganda’s public debt has now grown to Shs97.499Trn, yet there are plans to borrow additional Shs25Trn to finance the next budget. Ssemujju identified wasteful expenditure worth Shs5.485Trn that should be removed from the budget, although the appeal was rejected by Parliament.
“Some of those being given vehicles, cannot use all of them. For example, under the office of the President, leaders such as Amama Mbabazi and Kiwanuka Ssekandi have been given vehicles yet they have already benefited from free brand new limousines as former leaders. Ssekandi actually has a vehicle as former speaker, a vehicle as former deputy speaker, a vehicle as former vice president and now as a presidential advisor yet he hardly moves. All these vehicles are fueled and drivers provided,” added Ssemujju.
“The biggest task on our hands as the 11th Parliament, is to significantly reduce the country’s Trillion public debt. This debt has become a big burden to our economy and threatens the very existence of Uganda as a sovereign state. Public debt now stands at 52.7% of our Shs184 trillion GDP. Parliament must therefore reject any measure that seeks to grow the public debt,” said Ssemujju.
Ssemujju criticized the growing public debt, now at UGX 97.499 trillion, and urged Parliament to reject measures that would increase it further. He called for a more inclusive and sustainable budget that addresses poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
