The government government will no longer admit projects into the Public Investment Plan without costed designs and credible feasibility studies, the permanent secretary for ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Ramathan Ggoobi has said.
Addressing accounting officers at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Ggoobi said the government has tightened budget execution rules, warning accounting officers against corruption, unauthorised recruitment, committing funds outside approved plans and initiating public projects without costed designs and feasibility studies.
He said the measures are part of wider reforms aimed at improving budget discipline, strengthening accountability and ensuring public resources are directed towards approved government priorities.
Government had previously witnessed projects being initiated without adequate feasibility studies or properly costed designs, forcing implementing agencies to make costly changes during implementation.
“There are projects where I have seen people trying to update designs when they never had feasibility studies. They never had designs that were costed, and now they have to change midway. These rules are also meant to protect you as government officers,” he said.
Ggoobi also announced tougher controls on recruitment in government, warning ministries, departments and agencies against employing staff without approved wage provisions.
“No wage provision, no recruitment. Recruitment must be on the basis of approved wage provision, a costed recruitment schedule and, most importantly, written clearance from the ministry of Public Service,” he said.
Ramathan Ggoobi
Ggoobi said a recent payroll audit, together with a pension and gratuity audit, had exposed wage management challenges across government institutions. Government subsequently provided Shs 350 billion to address wage shortfalls in different entities, but some accounting officers allegedly went ahead and recruited beyond the establishments cleared by the ministry of Public Service.
“In some cases, the Public Service ministry had cleared 20 people and an institution recruited 80. We asked them to explain themselves. Those who explained themselves were cleared, while those who failed to provide satisfactory explanations were relieved of their responsibility as accounting officers,” he said.
He warned that accounting officers who create financial obligations outside approved establishments risk being held personally accountable for their decisions. Ggoobi also pledged that the Finance ministry would ensure timely budget releases, prompt review of balances and continued technical support to institutions during budget execution.
“Ensure that every single person who is given the responsibility to lead an entity in Uganda is given a clear mandate, marked on priorities and relieved of the responsibility if they fail to do that work,” he said.
The head of Public Service Lucy Nakyobe said citizens judge the government by the quality of services they receive, rather than the amount of money allocated to public institutions.
“By the quality of services delivered, our citizens measure our performance by what they enjoy, by what they see and by what they feel. If a citizen goes to school and is not taught, that citizen knows the government is not performing,” Nakyobe said.
She said the responsibility of accounting officers goes beyond compliance with financial regulations and requires leadership based on integrity, innovation and results.
Nakyobe also warned against corruption, leakages, misuse of public funds, inflated procurement costs, fictitious payments and conflicts of interest, saying such practices undermine public confidence in government institutions.
She called on accounting officers to strengthen internal controls, enforce accountability and improve coordination between finance, planning, internal audit and senior management teams.
The officials were also reminded that every government programme, contract, payment and project should contribute to the achievement of national priorities.
“Every programme undertaken, every contract supervised, every payment processed and every project implemented contributes directly to achieving government priorities,” Nakyobe said.
She warned accounting officers against treating supplementary expenditure as routine, saying public resources should only be used for approved purposes.
“Value for money must guide every expenditure decision,” she said.
Nakyobe challenged accounting officers to spend more time in the field monitoring government programmes instead of remaining in their offices.
“You must move beyond reporting activities and instead focus on measuring outcomes and the actual impact of government programmes on citizens’ lives,” she said.
She urged officials to regularly visit project sites and engage communities to establish whether government interventions are achieving their intended objectives.
“Get off your chairs and get to the field to supervise and monitor government programmes. The work is in the field,” Nakyobe said.
She also urged accounting officers to engage the public regularly to identify gaps in service delivery and establish where government programmes are succeeding or failing.
“Those of you who are still in your offices, time is up. You must get out and go and engage with the public,” she said.
Nakyobe also raised concern over government institutions that receive funds but fail to utilise them before the end of the financial year.
She questioned why some institutions continue receiving large allocations when they repeatedly fail to absorb the funds, while other agencies struggle to finance critical services.
“If you return money, we shall investigate you. Why should they put too much money in institutions that cannot utilise it, yet there are institutions that really require this money for the service of our citizens?” she said.
She called for future allocations to take into account the ability of institutions to utilise resources effectively. Nakyobe further urged local governments to prioritise quality service delivery, particularly in hospitals and public universities.
“Quality is a must. In hospitals, we need quality service delivery. In public universities, we want quality education,” she said.
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