The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), has today disseminated the grant and budget guidelines for the Financial Year 2025/26 to Namayingo district local government.

The meeting took place in the Finance and Planning Boardroom.

The guidelines aim to support efficient grant allocation and facilitate the timely completion of budget estimates for the upcoming financial year.

In a statement delivered by Grace Byansansa on behalf of the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Ramathan Ggoobi, the ministry emphasized its mandate to coordinate the joint dissemination of grant and budget frameworks.

He said that the key objective of the engagement was to ensure the local government adheres to the final grant and budget guidelines, which include updates on budget priorities and revised allocation formulas, ahead of the district council deadline to approve estimates by May 31, 2025.

Ngoobi further urged the district to align its budget planning with the revised subprogram-specific guidelines and also adhere to service delivery standards.

He noted with concern that past assessments revealed that many districts fail to comply with budget preparation criteria, often allocating resources outside approved frameworksresulting in budget virements and supplementary requests.

He also stressed the need for districts to incorporate environmental and social safeguard requirements into their development plans and to prioritize the operation and maintenance of existing projects. This includes providing adequate staffing, access to utilities, Universal Primary and Secondary Education (UPE/USE) capitation and operational funds.

The Chief Administrative Officer, Friday Kyomya applauded the ministries for their continued support in guiding the budgeting process.

The meeting was attended by the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), District Internal Security Officer (DISO), heads of departments, sector leaders, and other stakeholders.