SH51.9 TRILLION: Uganda’s 2023-2024 budget revised

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government’s amendment to the proposed budget for the financial year 2023/2024, indicates an increase in the resource envelope from 50.9 trillion to 51.9 trillion Shillings.

Henry Musasizi, the Minister of State for Finance- General Duties tabled the document on Wednesday during the plenary sitting.

The document provides parliament with corrections to errors and omissions in the draft budget estimates for the next financial year, following requests by accounting officers.

According to Musasizi, the corrections are in line with Regulation 12 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) which provides that an accounting officer may make corrections to estimates submitted to parliament before the House considers them.

The document indicates an increase in the recurrent budget from 15.7 trillion to 15.73 trillion Shillings, the development budget increased to 6.52 trillion from 6.51 trillion, the statutory budget from 21.2 trillion to 21.5 trillion, and external financing moves to 8.1 trillion from 7.4 trillion.

In the new estimates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gets an additional 327 million for salaries, 254 billion towards treasury operations to help reduce the government’s liability with the Central Bank, 8 billion to projects from the initial provision of 7.4 billion, an additional 33.3 billion to Ministry of Tourism to cater for equipment for surveillance, construction of staff accommodation, electric fence maintenance and translocation of Rhinos to various national parks and others.

However, the Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga challenged the document tabled saying that the Minister had not presented a fresh statement of completeness regarding the changes being proposed. Mpuuga sought that the Minister withdraws the document until a statement is presented.

“By laying the document, the Minister is attesting to the incompleteness of the figures laid hitherto. And the advanced learners Oxford Dictionary Eighth Edition defines corrigendum as a thing to be corrected. I would have expected the minister, alongside the corrigendum to lay a fresh statement of completeness because the old figures…by laying the corrigendum attest to incompleteness. Wouldn’t it be procedurally proper that the corrigendum stands withdrawn until a fresh statement of completeness is laid before the House?” Mpuuga asked.

In her ruling, the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among said that the document would not be withdrawn and directed the Minister of Finance to present the statement on Tuesday next week before the budget estimates are approved.

She referred the document to the Budget committee for consideration.

Section 14 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) requires Parliament to approve the national budget for the next financial year by 31st May.

*****

URN