State House overwhelmed by unplanned presidential donations

The State House Controller, Jane Barekye, has acknowledged that State House is struggling to manage the overwhelming number of Presidential donations, with even ministers continuously sending her chits of demands from their constituencies during Cabinet meetings.

Barekye made these remarks while appearing before Parliament’s Presidential Affairs Committee. She was responding to concerns raised by MPs over the numerous Presidential pledges that have remained outstanding for years, causing frustration and unrest in their constituencies.

“This is a growing issue that we need to address collectively. We require guidance on how to manage these demands. It’s impossible to plan for them because I don’t know who the President will donate to next. We can’t budget UGX 500 billion when we don’t know the recipients. Instead, we prioritize based on urgency and available budget capacity. It’s not about discrimination.

“However, I believe we can mitigate this issue politically. For example, when I attend Cabinet meetings, ministers keep sending me chits with demands. I don’t know what to do because the budget can’t cover everything. I can’t stop the President from donating, but I need advice on how to manage this,” Barekye explained.

Her remarks came in response to a question from Jennifer Muheesi, the Woman MP for Kazo District, who questioned what measures State House was implementing to clear the backlog of Presidential donations and pledges.

“The outstanding donations and pledges are causing significant problems in our communities. We need to find a solution because they are doing more harm than good,” Muheesi warned.

It should be noted that in the 2024/25 national budget, State House requested an additional UGX 30 billion for donations. Immaculate Namara, the Director of Planning at State House, emphasized that the current Presidential donations budget is inadequate compared to the growing needs.

“We are frequently confronted with emerging issues that weren’t anticipated during the planning or budgeting cycle, which often necessitates a supplementary budget. State House faces increasing demands for donations and an inability to fulfill existing pledge commitments made by the President,” Namara stated.

Stephen Kangwagye, the MP for Bukanga County, urged his fellow MPs to support State House’s request for more funds for the Presidential donation budget, arguing that it would ensure the President’s donation activities are sustained. “The people at State House are overwhelmed. When President Museveni visits areas like Isingiro, many challenges arise. You know the heart of our President; he can’t just leave people in need. We need a detailed plan on how we can budget for this. If it means creating a separate budget, so be it. The President must be able to provide solutions, and we need to ensure there’s no shortage of funds,” Kangwagye insisted.

This development comes at a time when the Minority Report on the 2024/25 national budget estimates revealed that the government allocated UGX 160 billion for donations, with over half of this amount directed to the Presidency.

According to the report, the Presidency will spend UGX 77 billion on community outreach programs and another UGX 57 billion on Presidential initiatives, bringing State House’s total donations to UGX 136 billion.

Additionally, Parliament’s Public Relations Department has a donation budget of UGX 4.2 billion, and during the entity’s budget review, State House requested an additional UGX 30 billion for donations.

The Office of the Prime Minister has a donation budget of UGX 3.7 billion, while the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament have UGX 2.4 billion and UGX 1.8 billion allocated for donations, respectively. The Government Chief Whip’s office also has a donation budget of UGX 1.8 billion.