Why MPs want payment of subscriptions to international bodies centralised

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Justice Forum (JEEMA) president and Bugiri Municipality lawmaker Asuman Basalirwa wants the responsibility for paying Uganda’s subscriptions to international bodies transferred to the Central Government.

This would replace the current system in which individual Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) budget for organisations that fall under their respective mandates.

2026/27 BFP

It should be noted that in their report on the Budget Framework Paper for the 2026/27 financial year, Members of Parliament (MPs) recommended the provision of sh115.771 billion for this purpose following concerns about Uganda’s persistent failure to fulfil its financial obligations to these organisations.

They noted that as of December last year, the country’s arrears stood at sh90.23 billion, and no funds had been allocated to clear these arrears in the 2026/27 financial year.

To make matters worse, the Budget Committee, chaired by Patrick Opolot Isiagi (Kachumbala County, NRM), added that no funds had been allocated for annual assessment contributions totalling sh25.54 billion in the forthcoming financial year, implying that Uganda’s arrears will continue to accumulate.

Proposal

Basalirwa contends that this situation poses a grave challenge to the country’s international standing.

“I recall that we did propose that the Ministry divest itself of this obligation. That these international organisations should be treated as statutory payments and be paid for centrally. Because if you amalgamate all their budgets, it even goes beyond the Ministry’s budget. So, there was that proposal that let it be handled centrally,” Basalirwa argued.

“As a matter of fact, once we ratify a treaty to become members of these international organisations and agencies, that treaty actually becomes part of our law. Whether ratified at the level of Parliament or Cabinet," he added.

VP Alupo in diplomatic scare

The development comes barely a week after foreign affairs ministry permanent secretary Vincent Waiswa Bagiire disclosed a disturbing incident related to this issue.

During an interface with MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (Central), chaired by Gorreth Namugga on March 5 this year, Bagiire said Vice President Maj. (Rtd) Jessica Alupo was nearly denied the microphone last year in Addis Ababa because Uganda had defaulted on its subscription. The situation was resolved after the fees were cleared just before the summit.

“As the report has outlined, the African Union incident last year in February, when we were advised that our microphones may not go red as this one, you can touch it as much as you want, but if you haven’t paid, it won’t turn on, the red will not appear,” Bagiire hinted.

“The Vice President (Jessica Alupo) led the delegation on behalf of H.E. the President (Yoweri Museveni). But as I said, we managed to pay just before the summit began,” he added.

Root causes

Since then, Bagiire said the issue of subscriptions has been taken to Cabinet for consideration. However, he said they need Parliament’s support to ensure that these arrears are consistently paid.

“I am given a ceiling in the MTEF (Medium Term Expenditure Framework), and I am told this is the amount of money that you can budget by the Ministry of Finance. Those resources naturally cannot accommodate a bill of sh25 billion annually. If you compile all the subscriptions that the Ministry does on an annual basis, the bill is around sh25b. Our annual bill this financial year, madam chair, as you will appreciate, is around, I think, in a range of sh30 billion,” Bagiire explained.

“This financial year, we were given funds to the tune of sh17.237 billion to address arrears….But please note, the arrears at that time were Sh80 billion,” he cited.

Trade ministry also struggling

The problem is not limited to one ministry. Three days earlier, MPs raised similar concerns during an engagement with officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives led by permanent secretary Lynette Bagonza.

It emerged that the ministry had been grappling with sh7.523 billion in outstanding subscriptions to several organisations, including the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the South Centre and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Bagonza said the expenditure, which has since been cleared, had been budgeted for under grants to international organisations but remained unpaid due to budget constraints.

However, Ibanda North MP Xavier Kyooma (NRM) contested this claim.

“If it was not budgeted for, then it should appear under the statement of outstanding commitments. But when you go there, there is only Shs3 billion and even that sh3 billion was not paid until the year ended, you still have it,” Kyooma raised.

“Even what was paid was not reflected, because when you interlink them, your principal accountant will tell you, now there is nothing that is speaking to the sh7 billion,” he added.

ESAMI, Public Service talks

On March 10, 2026, lawmakers also learned that during the 2024/25 financial year, the Ministry of Public Service had an outstanding bill of Sh1.128 billion related to restructured international subscriptions.

According to documents seen by New Vision, officials said most of this amount related to the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) annual subscription, which costs $60,000, equivalent to sh222.3 million annually.

“However, following negotiations with ESAMI last year, the subscription was reduced to $10,000 (sh37 million) annually, and the write off of the subscription arrears from $256,848 (sh951 million) to $148,382 (sh549.38 million) substantially reduced the Ministry's bill of domestic arrears,” the report states.