Summary:
- The 28 councilors have placed the blame on the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the LC V Chairperson for not convening a meeting to pass the budget.
- They insist they are not responsible for the budget’s delay and urge their constituents to direct their frustrations towards the CAO and the LC V Chairperson.
RUKUNGIRI: With only hours remaining to the reading of the national budget for the 2024/2025 financial year, the Rukungiri District budget remains unapproved as councilors boycott council sittings in protest over unpaid allowances.
Now, tension and anger have escalated among the councilors upon discovering that the budget was secretly approved by a members of the District Executive Committee (DEC) and sent to the Ministry of Finance for consideration without the council’s approval.
The 28 councilors have placed the blame on the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the LC V Chairperson for not convening a meeting to pass the budget. They insist they are not responsible for the budget’s delay and urge their constituents to direct their frustrations towards the CAO and the LC V Chairperson. They also accuse the DEC members of misleading the Chairperson in managing the district.
Led by Albert Mugisha Gwamugata, the Buyanja Sub County councilor, the councilors are now collecting signatures to censure members of the DEC. They demand immediate action to remove these members from their positions to prevent further mismanagement.
CUE IN COUNCILORS……ON DEC MEMBERS……RR//
However, Rukungiri District CAO Hajji Masokoyi Swalihk Wasswa denied the allegations, stating that the councilors failed to attend the budget approval meetings. He explained that the councilors refused to participate until their allowances were paid, which the Ministry of Finance and Planning had not yet released.
Hajji Masokoyi warned that failure to pass the budget by the statutory deadline would result in penalties during the national assessment exercise, reducing the district’s grant.
CUE IN HAJJI MASOKOYI……ON THE BUDGET……ENG//
Rukungiri District Speaker James Turyamubona confirmed that he had called the councilors for the budget approval meeting, providing them with a program calendar for the entire year. He said the councilors’ refusal to attend due to lack of facilitation is the reason for the budget delay. The speaker emphasized that the DEC members do not have the authority to pass the budget, explaining that the DEC’s meeting with the CAO and Chief Finance Officer was to review the budget details, not to approve it.
CUE IN TURYAMUBONA….ON THE BUDGET…….ENG//
