Policy, Budgeting and Oversight: The Role of the Legislature in Uganda

1. Policy, Budgeting and Oversight: The Role of the Legislature in Uganda Ishmael M Magona Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

2. Outline • Introduction • The Ugandan Legislature • The Legislature & the Policy making processes • Involvement of the legislature in the budget process • Capacity Enhancement • Parliament´s effectiveness • Conclusion

3. Introduction • Progress has been made in enhancing the credibility of the policy and budgeting processes • This has been through increased involvement of the key stakeholders • Some challenges still exist.

4. The Ugandan Legislature • Mandate and functions derived from the 1995 Constitution. • Parliament plays an oversight role thru: • Passing laws for good governance • Debating and enacting the budget • Monitoring implementation of policy & programmes • Ensuring increased transparency and Accountability • Representing the interests of individual constituencies

5. …The Ugandan Legislature • Presently has over 300 members • 214 constituency representatives • 56 District Women Representatives • 10 Army Representatives10 Ex-officio members • 5 Representatives @ for Youth, PWDs & Workers • Under the Movement governance MPs are elected on the basis of “Individual Merit”

6. The Legislature & Policy Making • The active involvement of Parliament dates from the early 90´s during PEAP formulation • Reasons: • Need to ensure constituency interests are reflected in the national plans • Creating awareness on the policies underpinning the budget • Making MPs part of the solution seeking group to policy implementation bottlenecks

7. The Legislature & the Budget Process • Prior to 2000 – Budget was being made by MFPED • Implication: Budget was less credible • Situation changed with the enactment of the Budget Act 2001 • The Budget Act regulates the budgetary procedures for a systematic and efficient budget process

8. The Budget Process • The Budget Act 2001 has made the budget process more open, transparent and consultative involving all stakeholders • The Act sets the key dates for delivering key budget documents and how Parliament gets involved in the budget process

9. The Consultative Budget Process April 1 June 15 May 15 Parliament Submission of Indicative Plan/MTEF Budget Speech Cabinet Approval of BFP/MTEF Final Budget Approval Cabinet • National Budget Workshop • Indicative Sector Ceilings • Budget & SWG Guidelines Compilation of National BFP And Updated MTEF Finalisation of Budget Allocations/MTEF MFPED PER Inter-ministerial Consultations Preparation of Sector BFP and Revised MTEF Allocations within the Ceiling Preparation of Detailed Budget Estimates Line Ministries/ Spending Agencies/ SWGs/Donors Apr - June Oct - Dec Jan - Mar

10. Capacity Enhancement • The Budget Act requires MFPED and the Parliament to do things differently in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness • Within MFPED the following have been introduced: • Integrated Financial Management System • Output Oriented Budgeting • LTEF for enhanced revenue/exp. forecast • Various budgeting documents

11. …Capacity Enhancement • Parliamentary Budget Committee and Budget Office • The Budget Committee is standing Committee of Parliament • The Committee scrutinises the preliminary estimates and the macroeconomic plan • It reviews the national budget and compiles amendments which are referred to various Committees

12. …Capacity Enhancement • The Budget Office: • Provides budget related information to all Committees • Submits reports on economic forecast, budget projections and options for reducing the budget deficit • Identifies and recommends bills that provide for an increase/decrease in revenue/budget • Prepares analytical studies on specific subjects • Gives general advice on the budget and national economy

13. …Capacity Enhancement • Legislative Support Services – to help MPs in writing and tracking legislation • The Committee system has been particularly useful in the budgeting process and to monitor spending • Increased interaction with the CSOs to support it in planning, budgeting and monitoring to ensure improved service delivery.

14. Parliament´s Effectiveness • Parliament´s increased involvement in planning and Budgeting has yielded positive outcomes: • Increased transparency and accountability to enhance reach of activities • Rules and procedures to curb excessive borrowing have been introduced • Supplementary expenditure is incurred after Parliamentary approval

15. Conclusion • Some challenges still exist • e.g. due to political pressures funds are shifted to purposes other than those approved • Oversight demands due to overlap of cycles – budget, monitoring and audit. • These make Parliament less efficient in scrutizing budgetary allocations

16. …Conclusion • The challenges can be overcome with strengthened capacity in: • Increased research in budget issues • Increased access to comprehensive, accurate and timely information on different policy and budget issues and audits • The system of specialised committees • Need to reducing donor dependency in order to enhance independent decision making

17. Conclusion Thank You For Your Attention.