By Chris Woo
The Oyam District Council has approved a budget of Shs 55,553,368,000 for the financial year 2025-2026, representing an increase of over Shs 1 billion from the previous financial year’s budget of Shs 54,883,263,000. Presenting the budget before the council at Para Safari Lodge in Murchison Falls National Park, Christ Ongom, Leader of Government Business, highlighted the key allocations.
The largest portion of the budget, Shs 25,749,719,000, has been allocated to the education sector, followed by health with Shs 10,267,177,000, administration with Shs 9,831,232,000, and internal audit with Shs 57,865,000. Ongom noted that locally raised revenue has also increased from Shs 700 million to over Shs 1 billion.
The Speaker of Oyam District, Nomi Otyeno, expressed gratitude to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) for facilitating the council’s activities in the park. He directed the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and all civil servants to assist councillors in interpreting the budget allocation to ease the monitoring process.
However, Conny Atoo, the Oyam Town Council female LC5 councillor, raised concerns about unequal distribution of resources in the education sector, citing examples of development projects being concentrated in Abok and Ngai Sub Counties. Beatrice Okello, Secretary for Education and Sports, refuted these allegations, highlighting that most schools in Oyam Town Council are beneficiaries of European Union-funded projects.
Other councillors, including Alex Abibi, Bless Ajok, Daniel Okello, Tonny Ocen Okello, and Nelson Oloa, expressed their excitement about the increased allocation to the education sector and suggested that the budget committee consider allocating funds for transport means to aid in inspection and improve education performance.