The Ministry of Internal Affairs is seeking Shs46 billion to beef up staffing at the different border points.
This request was made as the ministry officials led by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Gen. Kahinda Otafiire appeared before the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs on Tuesday, 31 March 2026.
This is contained in the Ministerial Policy State for the next financial year that the officials were defending.
Dr. Stephen Okello who represents the ministry on the NGO Bureau said they need 1,286 staff but only 702 positions have been provided for.
“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.
Okello added that out of the 72 gazzetted border points, only 33 per cent have ICT coverage leaving the bigger percentage with rudimentary ways of data capture which he said is, is a gap to national security.
Okello said the ministry faces challenges of enrolling Ugandans in the Diaspora for passports and other Immigration services. He said with sufficient funding, the ministry will be in position to deploy immigration attaches abroad.
Gen. Kahinda Otafiire added that besides immigration, the ministry suffers from budget short falls in other areas citing the National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA), the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda Prisons Services.
“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,” Kahinda Otafiire said.
Kagoma North County Member of Parliament, Hon. Brandon Kintu expressed concerns on the attitude of immigration officers deployed at Entebbe Airport saying their unfriendly demeanor is a disservice to 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.
The Committee Chairperson, Hon. Wilson Kajwengye asked for updates on a joint venture with a private contractor to put up facilities that would effect printing of passports.
