Uganda’s equity budgets face a harder test: who actually benefits

Uganda has made budgeting for marginalised groups a legal duty, but its Equal Opportunities Commission says policy promises still need to become better services and real opportunities. The commission is calling for public resources to be directed more effectively towards women, young people, persons with disabilities and underserved communities, according to Daily Monitor Uganda (direct). At stake is whether government spending reaches the people it is meant to help.

The appeal came as the commission recognised ministries, departments, institutions and non-governmental organisations for advancing equal opportunities. Its message went beyond recognition: fairness must shape how government programmes are planned, funded and delivered. The commission has previously identified gaps between commitments to gender and equity and the money and services that ultimately reach citizens.

From budget approval to public benefit

Uganda uses gender and equity budgeting, a process that checks whether public plans and spending respond to the needs of marginalised groups. Under the Public Finance Management Act, 2015, the finance minister must consult the commission before certifying that the Budget Framework Paper and annual budget meet those requirements. The law also requires measures to equalise opportunities for women, men, persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups.

Catherine Lamwaka, chairperson of the parliamentary committee, said Parliament would work with the commission to strengthen oversight throughout that process. Scrutiny should cover not only policy but also planning, budgeting, implementation and service delivery, she said. She urged the commission to present evidence of inadequate funding, failed implementation and obstacles that stop citizens benefiting from government programmes. Successful approaches should also be documented so they can be used elsewhere.

A policy’s worth depends on whether its intended beneficiaries can see the benefits, parliamentary committee chairperson Catherine Lamwaka said.

Jackie Mwebabazi, the state minister for gender and labour, urged public institutions to treat the Gender and Equity Certificate as a tool for planning and accountability, rather than simply a requirement to satisfy. She called for stronger evidence of what public expenditure changes in communities and for officials to trace resources through to their intended recipients. That would shift attention from obtaining certification to demonstrating results.

Contracts, finance and access to markets

Mwebabazi’s appeal extended to economic opportunity. She called for accessible workplaces and fairness in hiring, pay, procurement—the purchase of goods and services—and service delivery. Inclusion should be visible not only in employment, she said, but also in access to contracts, finance, markets and digital opportunities. She also urged greater use of information from the 2024 National Population and Housing Census to identify communities facing gaps in access and guide resource allocation.

Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio Rukia Isanga Nakadama said Uganda had practised gender and equity budgeting for a decade following the 2015 law. Before that legislation, she said, such considerations were largely voluntary and informal. The law made planning and budgeting for marginalised groups binding on ministries, departments, agencies and local governments. Deliberately directing resources towards excluded groups and historically underserved regions could unlock economic potential and reduce dependence, she said.

Nakadama nevertheless acknowledged continuing service-delivery gaps and socioeconomic disparities. The next test is how oversight and planning address those shortcomings: whether the commission brings evidence of funding and implementation failures to Parliament, and whether public institutions use certification and census data to target spending more effectively. The officials’ shared challenge is to show who benefits from public money—and who remains excluded.