COUNCIL FAILS TO APPROVE BUDGET AFTER CONSUSION OF LAWS

Mpondwe-Lubiriha town council in Kasese district has failed to approve the budget for the financial year 2013/2014 due what looks like misinterpretation of the law.

The Shs. 180m budget that was laid early this month was coming for approval in the council held at the Bwera primary teachers college.

There was drama in council when the speaker Mr. Francis Bamenya ruled that the budget cannot be approved without town council water body estimates, describing it as incomplete.

Mr. Bamenya involved in verbal exchange with the town clerk Mr. Ever Biira who rose to guide council that the issues of water managed by a body instituted by law cannot be incorporated in the budget.

The councilors sided with the speaker and postponed the budget approved to July 1^st, as they gave the town clerk four days to have sort out what they called an incomplete budget.

However, in an interview , Ms Biira insists that council acted in an unlawful manner to block the approval of the budget because the town water board revenues are not integrated in it.

Biira explains that since the water board manages its own account, their budget estimates can only be discussed as an addendum to the council budget.

She describes the blocking of a budget supposed to be implemented on July 1^st as a hiccup to the implementation of different activities of the urban council.

The leader of opposition in the council Mr. Majid Ntumeli supports the town clerk adding that the mistake was caused by the issues of numbers in the meeting. END