In the frenzy of public scrutiny of the expenditure of Government institutions, some questions were fronted to me about the Presidential budget. Rightly so, people are interested in knowing how their tax money is spent in the confines of State House and the President’s office. All public money must be accounted for and State House/Presidency has proven very compliant when it comes to accounting for public funds. When asked in good faith, questioning the budget of the President is part of public accountability but when asked with cynicism or with the intention of casting the President as a spendthrift or someone living large of public funds, that’s a wrong turn!
The budget for the President doesn’t need to be debated because we have the most frugal and considerate leader ever. His service is tagged on real value for money. When he goes abroad it’s always for official purposes, not private business or leisure. While there, he markets Uganda, its endowments and products, addresses challenges of Ugandans there and sources for investors to come and sow money here to power local industry and spur faster economic transformation. His travels are always essential to Uganda’s interests unlike other leaders who travel for shopping and vacationing. The delegations he moves with are always tagged to specific responsibilities for which they are entitled to official facilitation.
On travel inland, our President is a practical and workaholic leader who reaches his people as and when they need him because every Ugandan wants him. As a democratic leader and one steeped in socioeconomically transforming the entire Ugandan society, he doesn’t sleep. If he isn’t on the ground, he is hosting delegation after delegation, all of which come with attendant costs but all aimed at the proper functioning of society. And all this money is budgeted for and scrutinised by Parliament and accounted for.
Whereas speaking out in public forums is empowering of the ordinary person, accountability requires specialised audit mechanisms and checks. Most public commenters do not have the competence or information to determine if government money has been abused.
President Museveni is unlike other elected leaders who behave like monarchs; when they are seen in the countryside, it’s like a favour to the people whereas during election time they are all over the place. Ever the frontline commander in his revolutionary struggles, he has carried forward the approach in his country mobilisation drives. President Museveni has no reason to skip ground duty; he is a popular, elected leader with a progressive agenda hinged on the support of the people.
Take the example of when the President has been on countrywide wealth creation drives. Every shilling spent during those tours translates into more production and money being recouped into the economy when people pick his tips and put them in practice. Would it be better not to spend on activities promoting wealth creation in order to save money or it’s better to spend some money with the purpose of reaping more in terms of increased awareness among the public on how to overcome poverty? I think the latter makes sense.
On the handout envelopes, the President extends those to different beneficiaries on appeal from them or under special humanitarian consideration such as in times of disaster when Ugandans have suffered catastrophes like landslides, accidents or in times of bereavement as condolences. What kind of leader doesn’t extend a hand of sympathy in times of need?
There is another category that specialises in criticising the security arrangements of the President. We should desist from discussing issues to do with the security of the President because we have only one President. His security is our security and by the time his security is at risk, then nobody is safe. If something happened to him (God forbid!), it would have far-reaching consequences.
But the Ugandan citizen should rest assured that his money allocated to service the Presidency is value for money, and even more.
Last year, a section of legislators launched a smear campaign to make State House look like a bottomless pit where sacks and sacks of money are poured with no benefit to the tax payer. We respectfully educated and countered the group, unpacking the setup and operation of State House for them to know that State House is much bigger than the first family as had been portrayed. The central defence is that State House houses many departments which all exist to serve specialised duties which enable the President to fulfill his duties. I need not repeat the details here, but if people knew the diverse workload that goes on the confines of the institution, they would recommend greater budget consideration.
There is no cash bonanza there or palace style merrymaking. Everything is done with intimate consideration of the resource envelop available and the need to fund more of productive sectors than consumptive ones, as well those key to the stability and safety of the nation Uganda.
If all institutions operated like State House in terms of considerate use of public funds and accounting for the same, there would be no or minimal corruption to talk of. That’s why it’s rare to hear of a corruption scandal in State House, unless when it involves fraudsters posing as State House workers. Otherwise, when it comes to application of public resources, President Museveni practices what he preaches in terms of zero tolerance to wastage and corruption. The only “accusation” that can be leveled against him is for being a hardworking and practical leader!
The author is the Deputy Presidential Press Secretary
Contact: faruk.kirunda@statehouse.go.ug
0776980486/0783990861
