Government Ends Funding for Most National Holiday Celebrations

The government will stop funding most national public holiday celebrations starting in the 2026/27 financial year as it seeks to cut expenditure and channel resources to priority development programmes.

The decision was announced by the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, during the rollout of the budget preparation process for the next financial year.

Under the new arrangement, the government will no longer finance public events held to mark occasions such as International Women’s Day, Labour Day and Independence Day. Instead, President Yoweri Museveni will deliver national addresses from State House through radio and television broadcasts.

Mr Ggoobi said the savings from the move will support key government programmes under the ATMS agenda and other strategic priorities.

The ATMS agenda focuses on agro-industrialisation, tourism development, mineral exploitation, science, technology and innovation.

For many years, national holiday celebrations have rotated across different districts and involved significant spending on transport, security, mobilisation, protocol, tents, entertainment, public address systems and allowances.

Mr Ggoobi said public funding would remain available for a limited number of religious functions, although he did not specify which events would continue receiving government support.

The directive comes as preparations for the 2026/27 national budget gather pace. According to the Ministry of Finance’s Second Budget Call Circular, accounting officers have already been instructed to submit draft budget estimates for review and consolidation.

The government is expected to operate a budget of about Shs78 trillion in the 2026/27 financial year, reflecting increased spending on development programmes and other national priorities.