The Sironko district Local government has passed the 2023/2024 financial year budget, amounting to over 38 billion shillings.
The budget that was passed on Tuesday at the Sironko district head quarters prioritizes the road, health, and education sectors. According to the district leaders the budget aims at address key needs in the areas of health, education and the roads sector.
The budget was passed amidst the ongoing disputes between the political and technical leaders of the district over the management of local revenue collection from various government utilities.
Livingston Giruli, the Sironko District LC V chairperson, expressed concern over the declaration of local revenue by technocrats.
He said this has severely impacted service delivery, including road maintenance and the payment of councilors’ allowances.
“You know there is corruption in this district, where someone collects 10 million, only 6 million shillings is declared which has left a very big gap in service delivery” he said.
Herbert Musika, the Nalusala Sub County councilor and secretary for social services, highlighted the demand for overdue payments of over 20 million Shillings owed to councilors for four meetings.
He also noted that the district only collected 600 million Shillings in local revenue during the current financial year, falling significantly short of the planned 1 billion Shillings.
“This budget has passed in times when the councilors are demanding for their allowances, in Sironko, the councilors have not been getting the 20% of the money they collect as local revenue” Musika said.
Alie Madoi, the Buyobo Sub County councilor, and Francis Bukomba, representative of People with Disabilities, accused the technocrats of prioritizing personal gain over the well-being of the district.
They claimed that insufficient local revenue collections have hindered the district’s ability to fulfill its financial obligations, including councilors’ emoluments.
Luke Lukoda, the Sironko Chief Administrative Officer, refuted the allegations stating that no staff member is responsible for collecting local revenue.
He clarified that the funds are deposited into the district’s account by the selected bidder for each utility.
The CAO further explained that councilors have raised these concerns because they refuse to increase the allocation of local revenue from 40% to 60% for their allowances.
Despite the ongoing clash, the 2023/2024 budget, amounting to over 38 billion shillings, was successfully passed.
The budget prioritizes the road, health, and education sectors, aiming to address key needs in these areas.