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State Minister for Finance (General Duties) Henry Musasizi has said the government has no money to fund new cities in the next financial year.

Whereas Finance Minister Matia Kasaija last month said five more new cities will be operationalised in the next financial year, Mr Musasizi instead says the government’s focus is on reducing expenditure on consumptive items.

“These things of [creating] administrative units do not bring us any money; they give us spending pressure on the already constrained resource envelope. Therefore, we are saying some things can wait. If you want to make cities, you wait,” he said.

Mr Musasizi was representing Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja at the commissioning of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) building in Mbarara City on Friday.

He was responding to Mbarara City Mayor Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi who had expressed concern over creating more cities when the existing ones are still facing funding challenges and conflicts with their former districts on relocation.

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