Adjumani District Local Government is bracing for another budget cut, with its allocation expected to drop from shs49.7billion to shs46.7 billion, according to indicative planning figures from the Ministry of Finance.
District leaders say the continued decline comes at a time when demand for services is rising, especially following recent food ration cuts for refugees by the World Food Programme.
Presenting during the district budget conference, the District Planner, Fred Moini, said the projected budget for the 2026/2027 financial year stands at shs46.786 billion. He explained that while the district’s budget grew steadily between 2016 and 2021, it has been on a downward trend since 2022.
“From 2016/2017, the district had a budget of shs25.109 billion, which rose to shs26.219 billion in 2017/2018. In 2018/2019, it increased to shs35.750 billion, then to shs49.351 billion in 2019/2020, and peaked at shs72.644 billion in 2020/2021,” Moini said.
He added that the decline began in 2021/2022 when the budget was reduced to shs70.544 billion, followed by another drop to shs60.431 billion in 2022/2023.
The downward trend continued into 2023/2024 with shs50.599 billion, and further to an estimated shs49.756 billion for 2025/2026. The projection for 2026/2027 indicates a further fall to shs46.786 billion.
Adjumani’s Chief Finance Officer, Samuel Leku, said the performance of the current budget remains below expectations. As of October 31, 2025, the district had collected shs21.66 billion out of the shs49.757 billion annual target—representing 43.53 percent performance. Local revenue collection stood at shs219.77 million of the planned shs2.637 billion, a mere 8.33 percent.
He reported that central government transfers amounted to shs20.43 billion out of the budgeted shs42.855 billion, representing 47.67 percent, while donor funding reached shs1.008 billion out of the expected shs4.264 billion, 23.65 percent.
Senior Finance Officer Samson Yumah said the district will intensify local revenue mobilization to bridge the funding gaps. “We shall establish a local revenue mobilization team led by the Chief Administrative Officer at both district and lower local government levels. We also plan to promote public-private partnerships to broaden the revenue base,” he noted.
The district vice chairperson, Richard Kaijuka, urged leaders and stakeholders to propose practical solutions to improve local revenue collection and ensure better service delivery.
He highlighted that the ongoing budget conference aims to stimulate economic growth through monetization, emphasizing commercialization, industrialization, expansion of the services sector, digital transformation, and improved market access.
He added that all priorities for the next financial year will align with the ten-point strategy to ensure comprehensive planning.
According to the 2024 Uganda Bureau of Statistics census, Adjumani District hosts 300,590 residents and 228,295 refugees, bringing the total population to 528,885.
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