PSST Calls For Shift From Budget Allocations to Measurable Results

The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST) has called for a stronger focus on results, value for money and national impact in the management of Uganda’s public finances, saying the country must move beyond measuring budget performance by the amount of money spent.
Speaking to Members of Parliament on the Finance, Budget and National Economy Committees, the PSST said the national budget is more than a statement of Government revenue and expenditure. It reflects the country’s priorities and choices, determining what is funded, who benefits and which interventions must wait.

The PSST emphasised that effective budget management requires fiscal discipline, allocative efficiency and operational efficiency. Government must operate within a sustainable resource envelope, direct limited resources towards national priorities and ensure that public funds translate into quality services, infrastructure and measurable development outcomes.
While acknowledging Uganda’s progress in strengthening public financial management systems, the PSST said the key challenge is to move from budget absorption to development impact, noting that spending money does not necessarily mean creating value.

The PSST called for a stronger Budget Compact focused on affordability and national priorities. This should include completing viable projects before starting new ones, ensuring project readiness before funding, linking future allocations to performance and strengthening results-based oversight.
The PSST also stressed the importance of Parliament’s role in scrutinising, appropriating and overseeing public resources, saying effective collaboration between Parliament and the Executive is essential to maintaining fiscal discipline and accountability.

The central question, PSST said, should no longer be “How much money has been allocated?” but rather “What transformation has been delivered from every shilling spent?”
PSST said the guiding principle should be:
Affordability → National Priorities → Project Readiness → Effective Implementation → Measurable Results → Future Funding.
“Resources must follow priorities, funding must follow readiness, future allocations must follow performance, and accountability must follow results,” the PSST said, emphasising that this approach is essential to ensuring that every shilling delivers maximum public value.