Minister of State for Finance (General Duties), Hon. Henry Musasizi, says his ministry is set to release all funds designated for the sports sector during the second quarter of the ongoing financial year.
He acknowledged that the government is currently facing cash flow challenges, which resulted in the failure to disburse the allocated Shs15 billion in the first quarter.
Musasizi assured that despite cash flow issues, Shs10 billion would be released in the second quarter without fail. He acknowledged the existing challenge of timely fund disbursement to sports federations.
Legislators had expressed their concerns about the delayed and inadequate disbursement of funds for the sports sector.
During plenary on Tuesday, the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among highlighted that Parliament had allocated Shs15 billion for the sector’s first quarter, but only Shs4 billion was released, frustrating the sector’s fixed-calendar activities.
Solomon Silwany, Bukooli Central Representative, criticized the inadequate financing of the sports sector, noting that athletes often miss out on important events due to insufficient funds. He highlighted that the sector needs consistent and sufficient funding as approved in the budget.
“Whenever I interact with people in the sports fraternity, they say they do not get all the money that Parliament provides for them. We are celebrating but there is when the players are not able to partake in some games; when they do not go we simply keep quiet,” said Silwany.
Parliament plans to debate a motion honoring athletes Joshua Cheptegei and Victor Kiplangat, who secured gold medals in the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary.