KAMPALA, Uganda — The Ministry of Internal Affairs is requesting Shs46 billion to boost staffing at the country’s border points, officials told Parliament on Tuesday.
Appearing before the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, Minister Gen. Kahinda Otafiire and other ministry officials defended the Ministerial Policy Statement for the upcoming financial year.
Dr. Stephen Okello, the ministry’s representative on the NGO Bureau, said 1,286 staff are needed, but only 702 positions have been funded.
“Of the 72 gazetted borders, only 53 are operational, leaving 19 unmanned due to limited staff and susceptible to illicit activities such as trafficking and undocumented migration,” Okello said.
He added that only 33% of the 72 border points have ICT coverage, leaving most with rudimentary data capture methods, which he called a gap to national security.
Okello also said the ministry faces challenges enrolling Ugandans in the diaspora for passports and other immigration services. With sufficient funding, he said, the ministry could deploy immigration attaches abroad.
Gen. Otafiire noted that beyond immigration, the ministry faces budget shortfalls in other areas, including the National Identification Registration Authority, the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda Prisons Service.
“I respectfully request you members that these underfunded service areas be addressed and that the budget level after supplementary be maintained in the next financial year to enable uninterrupted service delivery and prevent accumulation of endemic arrears,” Otafiire said.
Kagoma North County Member of Parliament Hon. Brandon Kintu raised concerns about the attitude of immigration officers at Entebbe Airport, saying their unfriendly demeanor undermines national efforts to attract investment and tourism.
“In your budget for training, consider the immigration officers at the airport; they look paranoid, and I wonder whether it is a matter of underpayment or simply bad attitude that calls for training,” Kintu said.
Committee Chairperson Hon. Wilson Kajwengye asked for updates on a joint venture with a private contractor to build facilities for passport printing.