The Government of Uganda has named the country’s Prison Service as the best performing entity that excelled during the 2020/2021 Financial Year.
The Uganda Prisons (93 percent) led the way with Public Service Commission (92 percent), Uganda Tourism Board (91 percent), Masaka Referral Hospital (91 percent) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) completing the top five.
The entities were selected following an assessment carried out by the Ministry of Finance officials in collaboration with the Office of the Ugandan Prime Minister and a team from Civil Society Organisations.
The report that was released on Monday in Kampala by the Finance minister, Mr Matia Kasaija, was based on certificate of compliance of an entity’s budget to the priorities in the National Development Plant (NDP III).
Other considerations include compliance of Ministerial Policy Statements with EOC’s gender and equity requirements, reports of the Auditor General, budget performing reports and local government management of service delivery, among others.
The Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, who handed over certificates of excellence, said the initiative would motivate entities to deliver.
Following the announcement, the chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Ms Safia Nalule, commended the government for recognising their efforts.
Ms Nalule said commission would continue engaging different government ministries, entities and stakeholders to ensure that the needs of vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, youth, the elderly, are included in all budgets and district development plans.
“We assess the budgets and plans, track and monitor implementation of such budgets to ensure that the needs of vulnerable groups are catered for. We are doing the same for the implementation of the Government Development Model (PDM) to ensure that the 39 percent of Ugandans who are in subsistence, including vulnerable groups can benefit from the programme and join the money economy,” she said.
The chairperson noted that the commission needs an annual budget of Shs14 billion to effectively carry out its mandate yet they receive about Shs1.9 billion quarterly.
The acting Commissioner for Compliance and Enforcement at the Commission, Mr Evans Jjemba, said the recent budget cuts impacted on them negatively. He said the commission was not able to conduct monitoring and research.
Best Performers
• Uganda Prisons
• Public Service Commission
• Uganda Tourism Board
• Masaka Regional Referral Hospital
• Equal Opportunities Commission.
Top five performing Local Governments
• Ibanda
• Isingiro
• Kira Municipal Council
• Mpigi
• Gulu
