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Finance minister Matia Kasaija with the Budget Box
On Thursday, May 17, at 11pm after extensive deliberations, Parliament passed a Shs72.13 trillion Budget Expenditure for the fiscal year 2024/2025.
This marks a significant increase of Shs19.43 trillion from the current financial year’s budget of Shs52.7 trillion.
Originally proposed at Shs52.722 trillion in the Budget Framework Paper, the figure was later revised to Shs54.587 trillion and then to Shs60.9 trillion during the Budget Process.
However, on the final day of appropriation, a corrigendum of Shs13.78 trillion was presented, resulting in the budget being raised to Shs72.13 trillion.
“Madam Speaker, I propose a motion to adopt and pass the Budget for FY2024/2025 amounting to Shs72.13 trillion. This budget prioritises sectors such as security and governance, education, health, and infrastructure, among others,” Henry Musasizi, state minister for finance, said.
For the upcoming Financial Year 2024/25, the Budget composition allocates Shs13.686 trillion to recurrent expenditures of the central government, Shs4.678 trillion to local governments, 17 regional referral hospitals are accorded Shs290.789 billion for recurrent expenses.
Missions abroad are accorded Shs263.336 billion, totaling recurrent expenditures involving salaries, allowances, travels, and other operational costs at Shs18.735 trillion.
Regarding the development budget, the central government has allocated Shs14.755 trillion, referral hospitals Shs6.703 trillion, foreign missions Shs63.389 billion, and local governments Shs786.204 billion, resulting in a total of Shs15.585 trillion for salaries, allowances, other operations, and development, summing up to Shs34.320 trillion.
The increment of nearly Shs14 trillion has impacted the budget allocation significantly. The lion’s share and priority are distributed as follows:
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- Human Capital Development: 9.964 trillion, 26.3%
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- Governance & Security: 9.138 trillion, 24.2%
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- Integrated Transport Infrastructure & Services: 5.194 trillion, 13.7%
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- Private Sector Development: 2.075 trillion, 5.5%
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- Development Plan Implementation: 2.342 trillion, 6.2%
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- Sustainable Energy Development: 1.053 trillion, 2.8%
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- Agro-Industrialization: 1.672 trillion, 4.4%
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- Legislature, Oversight, and Representation: 978.6 billion, 2.6%
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- Tourism Development: 404.9 billion, 1.1%
Now, how does the government intend to finance this substantial budget and deliver services?
The budget is expected to be funded through domestic revenue collections of Shs32.38 trillion, primarily from tax measures.
Additionally, the government anticipates receiving budget support of Shs1.393 trillion in the form of loans and grants, and it plans to borrow from financial institutions and available financiers to the tune of Shs8.967 trillion from local banks.
Of this, Shs19.800 trillion is earmarked for domestic debt financing, while Shs9.583 trillion is allocated for project development.