The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Among, has urged accounting officers to uphold transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the management of public funds, in line with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, 2015.
Speaking at Kololo during Parliament’s special sitting to receive the national budget for the 2025/2026 financial year on Thursday, 12 June 2025, Speaker Among used the platform to address key concerns that surfaced during Parliament’s examination of the budget. She also reiterated Parliament’s cross-party dedication to Uganda’s development agenda.
“While political competition is natural, this Parliament rises above party lines when addressing matters of national progress. Uganda comes first,” she asserted.
Among outlined several critical focus areas that demand urgent action, including strengthening oversight and ensuring the effective implementation of socio-economic empowerment programmes like the Parish Development Model (PDM), Youth Livelihood Fund, Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), and the Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE).
She stressed the importance of enforcing the execution of transformative projects under the fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) to achieve Uganda’s long-term development targets. Additionally, she emphasized the need for financial discipline by requiring accounting officers to stick to approved budgets and strategic plans.
She also pointed out the necessity of minimizing the number of supplementary budget requests by adhering to the guidelines of the Public Finance Management Act, which restricts such requests to emergencies or unforeseeable expenditures that can be absorbed within the fiscal framework.
Among noted that Parliament passed the 2025/2026 national budget on 15 May 2025, in line with Section 14 of the Public Finance Management Act and Parliament’s internal procedures.
She cited several key achievements in the budget process, including :Adoption of the National Budget Framework Paper (2025/2026–2029/2030) on 30 January 2025, review of Ministerial Policy Statements between 9 and 16 April 2025, approval of seven tax-related bills on 13 and 14 May 2025 to support budget funding.
Among applauded Parliament’s timeliness and effectiveness, attributing the success to collaboration between the Legislative, Executive, Judiciary, and civil society organizations.
“Working together, we met all statutory and constitutional deadlines and thoroughly examined the budget,” she said.
She called for continuous public involvement during the implementation and accountability stages, highlighting the essential role of civic participation in fostering democracy and sound governance.
In a separate announcement, the Speaker confirmed that nine Members of Parliament had officially changed their political allegiance.
“We wish these Members the best as they exercise their constitutional right to freedom of association, as guaranteed under Article 29 of the Constitution,” she concluded.
