Gulu District Local Council has tabled a proposed budget of 23.9 billion shillings for the financial year 2016/2017.
The budget estimate was tabled by Gulu district Chairman Ojara Martin Mapenduzi during the 27th sitting of the council on Thursday.
Mr Mapenduzi also doubles as the Gulu district Secretary for Finance and Planning.
The budget estimate has now been referred to the respective committees for scrutiny before it is re-tabled for approval before the same council later this month.
The constitution directs lower governments to prepare comprehensive development plans and submit them to the National Planning Authority.
In his budget speech, Mapenduzi outlined fourteen (14) areas which he said are top priority for Gulu. These includes: enhancing accountability and good governance, strengthening financial management, increased agricultural production and land management and forest conservation, among others.
The central government is expected to fund around 90 percent of over 22 billion shillings in conditional grants and discretion government transfers.
Gulu district is also expected to raise around 568.1 million shillings in local which will be used to fund the budget.
Meanwhile donors will fund 1.1 percent of the budget estimated to be around 273 million shillings.
According to the budget estimate, education and sport too the lion’s with 12.9 billion shillings translating into 56 percent of the budget going to the two departments.
Administration cost comes second with 1.8 billion shillings followed by health (3.2 billion).
Others are Finance department (421.6 million), water (398.8 million), Community based services (414.4million), Natural Resource Management (262.8 million), planning unit (196.1 million) and internal audit with the least budget of 112.9 million shillings.
The theme for this year’s budget is “Consolidating and strengthening a sustainable platform for Economic Development through a self-driven community.”
