Members of Parliament on the Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation have recommended that the Science and technology sector be allocated Shs400bn for the FY2019/2020. According to the ministerial statement for FY2019/2020, the sector has been allocated Shs159.7bn, a decrease from the Shs184bn in the 2018/2019 budget. In the 2017/2018 budget, the sector was allocated Shs71.9bn. The committee chairperson, Fred Bwino, says that the government has not given the sector the required funding as stipulated in the second National Development Plan. The committee, however, notes that allocating even the one percent share of the national budget is still below the minimum target of 1% of the country’s GDP as set by the African Union states on funding for the research and development.
The ministry is mandated to among others, enhance the integration of science, technology, and innovation into the national development processes, to enhance Research and Development in Uganda and to improve the Science, Technology regulatory framework. Also, the ministry covers the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) Limited and Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID). Bwino says that additional funds to the sector will cater for say Shs12.4bn as counterpart funding for the National Science and Engineering Project for which parliament approved a loan that will be financed by $84.7m loan from the Exim Bank of China. The government committed to provide counterpart funding of $15m spread over five years.
The committee noted that while the first loan disbursement of Shs114bn was provided for in the 2018/2019 budget, no counterpart funding was budgeted for. Therefore, the finance ministry should allocate Shs72.4bn in 2019/2020 budget as counterpart funding and also provide Shs174bn for the second loan disbursement to kick start the project. The committee also wants Shs35bn allocated to the Innovation Fund. The Innovation Fund was established in the financial year 2003/2004 as a mechanism to strengthen scientific research and innovations, support commercialization of products, adaptation, and transfer of technologies among others. However, the Fund has not been allocated any money since financial year 2018/2019 after parliament halted provision of funds owing to absence of a legal framework to support the application of the Fund.
The committee also proposes that a total of Shs4.7bn is reallocated from the budgets of the ministry and Kiira Motors Corporation Limited (KMC) to the budget of the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. The committee noted that although KMC was given Shs13.1bn by end of December 2018, works only commenced in February 2019 such as the construction of the Kiira Vehicle Assembly Shop and offices. Therefore, the committee wants Shs4bn removed from the KMC budget because it may not absorb all its funds of Shs24bn in the FY2019/2020. However, West Budama North MP, Okoth Othieno says that it is ironical that the government is investing close to Shs4tn in the energy and roads sectors and at the same time funding the Kiira Motors Corporation Limited to set up among others vehicle support infrastructure as charging stations and facilities to support electric, autonomous and connected vehicles.
The Mbale Municipality MP Jack Wamanga say that the Science and technology ministry is not relevant in meeting the current needs of the country while Patrick Nsamba of Kasanda North and Anne Maria Nankabirwa (Kyankwanzi woman MP) says that the Innovation Fund, if reinstated, must be used for supporting people with innovations, and also guidelines must be set on how to access the fund. After the heated debate, parliament adopted the committee report on the ministerial statement for science, technology and innovation and its proposals for reallocation and allocations have been referred to the budget committee for consideration. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0704142939.
