Otuke, Uganda | Otuke District Local Government has tabled a proposed Shs28.1 billion budget for the 2026/2027 financial year, with education, administration and health taking the largest share of the allocations.
The draft budget was presented before the district council on March 26, 2026, by the Secretary for Finance, Planning and Administration, Benson Oyaka, during a council sitting attended by district leaders, technical staff, security officials, and invited guests.
While delivering the budget speech, Oyaka said the proposed estimates amount to Shs28,109,660,000, representing an 8 percent increase from the previous financial year.
He said the budget is aligned to the government’s broader economic agenda under the theme: “Full Monetisation of Uganda’s Economy through Commercial Agriculture, Industrialisation, Expanding and Broadening Services, Digital Transformation and Market Access.”
Oyaka said the district will focus on five key priority areas in the coming financial year, including:
- Agricultural production, value addition, climate change and food security
- Human capital development, particularly in health, education, water and sanitation
- Infrastructure development to reduce the cost of doing business
- Security and good governance
- Private sector development
According to the budget breakdown, education received the biggest allocation of Shs10.7 billion, accounting for 38.1 percent of the total budget.
It is followed by administration with Shs5.48 billion (19.5 percent), health with Shs4.94 billion (17.6 percent), production with Shs1.93 billion (6.9 percent), and works and engineering also receiving Shs1.93 billion (6.9 percent).
Other departments include council with Shs650.4 million, community-based services with Shs581.1 million, water with Shs494.5 million, natural resources with Shs463.4 million, planning with Shs441 million, finance with Shs259 million, trade, industry and local economic development with Shs117.8 million, and internal audit with Shs112.2 million.
Oyaka further explained that the district budget will be financed through four major sources.
These include wage recurrent expenditure amounting to Shs15.36 billion (54.6 percent), non-wage recurrent expenditure of Shs9.55 billion (34 percent), domestic development funding of Shs2.35 billion (8.4 percent), and external financing worth Shs845.7 million (3 percent).
He said the figures clearly show that the district’s biggest spending priorities remain education, administration, health, production, and roads and engineering.
“In accordance with Section 14(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2015, I now lay the draft annual budget estimates for the financial year 2026/2027 before council for onward scrutiny by committees,” Oyaka told councillors.
Speaking after the presentation, Otuke District Deputy Speaker Vicky Auma, who is also the outgoing Speaker, called on councillors who may return in the next political term to maintain close working relationships with those leaving office.
Auma urged outgoing and incoming leaders not to allow politics to divide them, saying public service and personal relationships should continue beyond council.
She noted that “there is still life after council and beyond politics”, and appealed to those who may retain their positions to continue supporting their outgoing colleagues by linking them to other leadership and service opportunities whenever possible.
She also commended the standing committee for its work on the draft budget and urged councillors to treat the document as a matter of priority.
Auma further challenged other sectoral committees to borrow a leaf from the finance committee and actively engage in reviewing development plans, noting that such documents are critical to the future growth and transformation of Otuke District.
The draft budget is now expected to be scrutinised by the relevant council committees before final approval.
