Lira, Uganda | Local governments across Uganda must submit their Budget Framework Papers for the 2026/27 financial year by 14 November 2025, in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) Cap 171 and existing grant guidelines.
The directive was issued on Monday 15 September 2025 by Hellen Jenny Owechi, Commissioner IT & Performance Audit in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED), while representing Finance Minister Matia Kasaija at a local government budget consultative workshop at Margaritha Palace Hotel in Lira City.
The meeting, held under the theme “Full Monetisation of Uganda’s Economy through Commercial Agriculture, Industrialisation, Expanding and Broadening Services, Digital Transformation and Market Access”, followed the National Budget Conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo on 11 September, which officially launched the 2026/27 budget preparation process as guided by Article 155 of the Constitution and Section 12 of the PFMA.
Owechi called on districts to complete their Local Government Development Plans (LGDPs) by 31 March 2026 to enable timely budget releases.
She stressed the role of accounting officers in ensuring political leaders are fully engaged in the preparation and execution process.
She revealed that while 25 votes had submitted final development plans aligned with the fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) by March 2025, most institutions remain behind schedule, with 18 yet to even initiate drafting.
The 2026/27 budget is the second year of NDP IV implementation, the first plan to deliver the Tenfold Growth Strategy, and the final plan aligned to Agenda 2030 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
It will also be the first to operationalise the ruling party’s 2026/27–2030/31 manifesto.
The workshop brought forward several concerns from local government representatives.
Kotido Municipality Mayor Irar Peter Abrahams noted that the UGX 1 billion annual road grant often goes unutilised due to lack of road maintenance equipment.
He urged MoFPED to address the issue and called for economic empowerment of all District Service Commission members to curb corruption during recruitment.
Dokolo District Speaker Joel Opota Okuma also expressed concern over future breakdowns of road machinery, pointing to the absence of a maintenance budget.
Apac District Planner Agunsi Benedict said grant allocations should reflect road network sizes, citing Oyam District’s 500km of roads compared with Apac’s 300km, despite both receiving equal funding.
He also flagged inadequate staffing in hospitals, dilapidated infrastructure, and insufficient vehicles for departmental heads.
Alebtong District LCV Chairperson David Kennedy Odongo highlighted Uganda’s high accident rates, linking them to poor physical planning.
He questioned government’s commitment to increasing allocations to local governments, warning that service delivery would remain stagnant without reform.
Assistant Commissioner Budget Policy and Evaluation Department MOFPED, Joseph Oloo Majanga, said the consultations aimed to capture challenges and views from district leaders before finalising the 2026/27 budget.
He explained that the engagements also reviewed programme grant guidelines and funding dissemination processes.
The Lira City meeting drew participants from Otuke, Dokolo, Alebtong, Lira, Kole, Kotido, and Apac districts, including RDCs, CAOs, speakers, and district chairpersons.
Similar consultative sessions will be held in Jinja and Mbale to cover Uganda’s four traditional regions.
However, eight local governments, Bugweri, Butebo, Buvuma, Gomba, Kalungu, Kiboga, Luuka, and Lugazi Municipality, remain without draft LGDP IVs, raising concerns over their readiness for the upcoming financial year as Uganda prepares for National Planning Authority (NPA) Vision 2040.
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