Politics 11 November 2026 Parliament of Uganda
State House Budget Defense Sparks Debate in Parliament
Minister of Finance Henry Musasizi defended the massive supplementary expenditure for State House during the 2025/2026 financial year, citing unpredictable resource needs for presidential duties. Source: https://www.parliament.go.ug/index.php/news/4721/musasizi-defends-additional-state-house-funding
The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, has strongly defended the allocation of additional funding to the State House. Speaking before the parliamentary Committee on Finance on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, Musasizi explained that the government has a fundamental duty to ensure the President is adequately financed to carry out official responsibilities.
During the 2025/2026 financial year, the State House ultimately spent Shs982 billion, vastly overshadowing its initial budget allocation of Shs119 billion. This created an astronomical additional expenditure of Shs862 billion that immediately drew scrutiny from the Budget Committee, chaired by Hon. Amos Kankunda.
Addressing lawmakers, Musasizi stated that the State House Accounting Officer had officially requested supplementary funding to bridge shortfalls in classified expenditures. He maintained that forecasting precise financial requirements for the presidency during the initial budgeting season remains an uphill task.
“I cannot reliably estimate that State House will spend this much in a year yet we are duty bound to facilitate the President,” Musasizi told the committee, emphasizing that the presidency must never face financial incapacitation.
Despite the explanation, the continuous reliance on abnormal supplementary budgets faced strong pushback. The Shadow Minister for Presidency, Hon. Harriet Nakwede, questioned why the finance ministry fails to provide proper guidance during the initial budgeting stages to curb such massive financial discrepancies.
Lawmakers also used the session to probe low disbursements for externally funded projects, noting that the government continues to service loans for stalled initiatives. Musasizi attributed these delays to lengthy negotiations with financiers and persistent procurement bottlenecks affecting major infrastructure projects like the Greater Kampala Metropolitan area and the Kampala-Malaba Metre Gauge Railway.
Read the full details on the Parliament of Uganda.