Politics 15 April 2026 Parliament of Uganda
Parliament Flags UDC's 82% Grab of Trade Ministry Budget for 2026/27
Ugandan MPs have voiced strong concerns over the proposed FY 2026/27 budget for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, where the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) is set to receive Shs422.35 billion—82% of the total Shs514.96 billion—leaving key institutions severely underfunded. This imbalance threatens standards enforcement, research, and export promotion efforts amid the government's industrialization push. Source: https://www.parliament.go.ug/news/4398/udc-take-82-trade-ministry-budget
Members of Parliament expressed alarm during a plenary session on April 15, 2026, over the skewed budget allocation for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives. The Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) stands to claim Shs422.35 billion, or 82% of the ministry’s Shs514.96 billion budget, with just Shs92.6 billion left for other essential votes.
Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry, Hon. Boniface Okot, presented the committee’s report under Speaker Anita Annet Among. He highlighted that UDC’s capitalization drives the budget increase but risks undermining the sector’s ecosystem by starving institutions like the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI), and Uganda Free Zones and Export Promotion Authority (UFZEPA).
Okot warned that concentrating funds in one entity hampers trade growth and industrialization. For instance, UIRI’s Namanve facility lacks Shs6.2 billion in machinery, limiting innovation support. UNBS struggles with standards enforcement due to funding shortfalls, while UFZEPA faces rising costs.
Broader issues include the Tourism Development Programme receiving only 71% of its planned funds, uneven local government allocations, and systemic problems like procurement delays and poor fund absorption. The committee urged balanced investments across the value chain despite UDC’s role.
Speaker Among questioned whether UDC should have its own budget vote rather than a subvention, noting its low returns on investments. The report now heads to the Budget Committee to shape the national budget approval.
Source: Parliament of Uganda