Overview:
According to the Budget Strategy for the FY2023/2024, nearly every sector of government has been affected, according to the notes by permanent secretaries of the different ministries.
Cabinet has approved cuts in the National Budget for the 2023/2024 financial year, something that is expected to significantly impact service delivery.
According to the Budget Strategy for the FY2023/2024, nearly every sector of government has been affected, according to the notes by permanent secretaries of the different ministries.
For instance, the Governance and Security budget is being trimmed from Shs7.167 trillion in FY2022/2023 to Shs6.727 trillion in FY2023/2024.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development’s budget has been reduced to Shs1.2 trillion compared to Shs1.577 trillion in the current financial year.
The budget for Human Capital Development has also been reduced to Shs9.005 trillion from the current allocation of Shs9.098 trillion.
According to Ms Ketty Lamaro, the Education and Sports ministry permanent secretary, the cuts will will force the ministry to prioritise aligned programme implementation action plan result areas.
The Tourism ministry budget has been cut to Shs89.293 billion, which is below the FY2022/2023 approved budget of Shs194.677 billion.
Tourism Minister Tom Butime said the deficit will adversely affect the implementation of the various programmes.
“There is a need for special dedicated focus for the national budget towards the realisation of the accelerated development of tourism,” Mr Butime wrote in the Budget Framework Paper 2023/2024, adding, “Scaling up the funding will increase the velocity of the return on investment, not only in tourism development but for all sectors of the economy. Tourism will generate funds for other priorities.”
The Lands ministry budget is Shs104.924 billion, with Ms Judith Nabakooba, the Lands minister, saying this is far below the FY2023/2024 prioritised NDP III Programme Budget of Shs522.17 billion and original programme budget of Shs840 billion.
The Public Service ministry’s budget has been reduced to Shs208.167 billion compared to Shs222.692 billion in the current financial year.
This has left Ms Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire, the permanent secretary of the Public Service ministry, worried.
“Inadequate budget for implementation of Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) reforms Shs4.61 billion, wage deficit for UBC Shs6.5 billion is in wage for the Uganda Broadcasting services subvention under Ministry of ICT and National Guidance among other constraints,” she said.
Already, the delivery of government services across the country this financial year has been paralysed following substantial reduction in budget releases for the different quarters.
For instance, in the first quarter, Treasury released about 19 percent of the expected 25 percent of the new Financial Year budget, describing the measure as necessary to reduce liquidity and tame inflation. In July, the Ministry of Finance released Shs4.7 trillion of the projected Shs8.1 trillion.