Parliament has approved 39.6 trillion shillings budget estimates for the coming financial year 2020/2021.
The approval during the sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah on Thursday followed the adoption of the Budget Committee report that recommended the passing of the National Budget Framework Paper for the financial year 2020/2021.
According to the approved Budget Framework Paper, the National Budget is projected to reduce by 2 percent from the current 2019/2020 budget of Shillings 40.488 trillion to 39.641 trillion in the financial year 2020/2021. The reduction in resource inflow is mainly attributed to a reduction in the projected external financing.
According to the State Minister for Economic Planning David Bahati, this budget will focus more on service delivery, infrastructural development in addition to the general election of 2021.
Bahati said no amount will be generated from the Petroleum Fund to finance the budget.
He disclosed that sources of financing as Shs 21.7 trillion from non-tax revenue; Shs 951 billion budget support while Shs 10.4 trillion will be projected revenue among other sources as he explains.
However, some MPs expressed concern that Uganda’s national debt had increased to Shs 42.3 trillion from Shs 41 trillion and advised the government to quickly devise means of reducing the debt before it’s too late.
The opposition led by Butambala County MP Muhammad Kivumbi contested the revision of the budget ceiling without providing an estimate of how much the budget will amount to. He said that there is need for consistency between the Budget Framework Paper with the final budget document.
However, Oulanyah ruled out Muwanga’s argument saying that it would hold water in the old budget practice when parliament used to approve the budget after the Minister of Finance presenting it to the Nation.
Following the argument, the Minister for Planning David Bahati insisted that the budget ceiling has to be revised due to the funding pressures that parliament had recommended additional funding.
