Ugandans are gearing up for a protracted presentation of the National Budget for the Financial Year 2022/2023 at the at the Kololo ceremonial grounds.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Minister for Finance and Planning and National Development, Matia Kasaija will present a Shs 48.1 trillion Budget under the theme “Industrialization for Inclusive growth, Employment and Wealth Creation.
The budget focusing on the post Covid 19 recovery of the economy with emphasis on the Parish Development Model, salaries for scientists, Human Capital Development, Governance and Security among others.
It is financed from domestic borrowing, (Shs7.1 trillion, tax collections (Shs25.7 trillion) and grants (Shs2.1 trillion). Domestic Revenue 25 trillion
The 2022/2023 FY budget is an increase by 2.2 trillion shillings from 2022/2022 FY standing at 44.7 trillion shillings. The increment has been inspired an increase in revenue collections.
However, there is looming over the soaring public debt that currently stands at Shs 73.5 trillion.
Government will set aside 17 trillion shillings to cater for debt repayment in the fourth coming budget.
The Ministry of Finance has reported that the debt had gone up by more than a quarter to 69 trillion shillings (19.5 billion dollars) over the previous year.
Now, the increase from the end of June to October last year was mainly attributed to the 5.9 trillion-shilling debt that the government acquired from the domestic market.
The ministry attributes this sharp rise in the national debt stock to the Covid-19 crisis, which it says has made worse Uganda’s fiscal position and development needs.
The total external debt exposure (outstanding stock of disbursed debt and committed but not yet disbursed debt) accounted for 62 percent of the total public debt in October 2021.
The Ministry of Finance maintains that Uganda’s debt is quite sustainable and is among the safest in the region.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance says our Debt-to-GDP ratio is among one of in the region, but we want to keep it within our Chatter of Physical Responsibility which we have already gotten through parliament.
Budget for 2022/2023 fy
-Human capital development including; education, health, and gender sectors – Shs8.7 trillion. 1 trillion will go towards the Parish Development Model, 495 billion for Salary enhancements of scientists among others.
-Debt repayment -17 trillion
-Security and governance, -Shs7 trillion , Ministry of Defense takes Shs 2.3 trillion.
Agro Industrialization- 1.2 trillion
-Lands, Housing and Urban Development will take Shs503 billion
-Transport infrastructure and services -Shs4.1 trillion, Uganda National Roads Authority has been given Shs 2.5 trillion
-Sustainable energy development- (Shs1.6 trillion)
-Private sector development- (Shs1.5 trillion).
-Legislation and oversight- (724bn)
-Tourism-(197 bn)
The least funded include innovation, technology development and transfer with Shs20b, mineral development (Shs31b); community mobilisation and mindset change (Shs73b) and digital transformation (Shs83b), climate change, Natural resource (617B)
