Musasizi Defends Massive State House Supplementary Funding

State Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, has strongly defended the heavy supplementary funding extended to State House during the 2025/2026 financial year. Appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, the minister addressed intense scrutiny from lawmakers after records showed State House spent Shs982 billion against an initial budget allocation of just Shs119 billion.

Chaired by Hon. Amos Kankunda, the committee questioned the necessity of the extra Shs862 billion. Musasizi explained that the supplementary funds were requested by the State House Accounting Officer to manage critical shortfalls in classified expenditures. He maintained that predicting exact financial requirements for the presidency during regular budgeting cycles remains nearly impossible.

“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 lack the resources needed to execute its constitutional mandates.

Despite the explanation, lawmakers expressed persistent concerns. The Shadow Minister for Presidency, Hon. Harriet Nakwede, questioned why the finance ministry fails to guide State House properly during the initial budgeting phase to prevent such massive, abnormal supplementary requests.

Beyond State House expenditures, the committee examined broader fiscal performance reports, raising red flags over low disbursements for externally funded projects. MPs noted that the government continues servicing loans for stalled initiatives, with only a fraction of project loans and grants utilized due to lengthy negotiations, procurement bottlenecks, and delayed financial closures.

Read the original report on the Parliament of Uganda.