The Minister of State for Finance (General Duties), Hon. Henry Musasizi, presented the national budget for the 2024/2025 financial year to Parliament during the House sitting on Thursday, March 28, 2024.
The proposed budget amounts to 58.34 trillion shillings and is aimed at advancing the full monetization of the Ugandan economy. It is designed to focus on key sectors such as agriculture, industrialization, services expansion, digital transformation, and market access.
In addition to these priorities, the budget includes investments in wealth creation initiatives, social sectors like education, health, and water, as well as manufacturing. Hon. Musasizi highlighted peace and security, road maintenance, construction projects including strategic roads and the standard gauge railway, and electricity transmission as key areas of focus during the plenary sitting.
The timely presentation of the national budget aligns with the requirements outlined in Section 13 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2015, which mandates the Minister to present the proposed annual budget to Parliament by April 1st of the preceding financial year.
Musasizi urged the House to support the processing and passing of the budget bill before the start of the new financial year. He assured Parliament of the Ministry of Finance’s commitment to providing support throughout the legislative process.
Compared to the previous fiscal year, the proposed budget marks an increase of 5.64 trillion shillings, reflecting the government’s expanded expenditure plans for the coming year.
Alongside the budget proposal, five tax bills were presented, including amendments to Excise Duty, Stamp Duty, Tax Procedures Code, Value Added Tax, and Income Tax. These bills are intended to generate revenue to fund the proposed budget.
Speaker Anita Among referred the tax bills to the House Committees on Finance and Budget for consideration. Section 13 of the Public Finance Management Act also requires the budget for the succeeding year to include a list of accounting officers, a statement on multi-year commitments by the government, and a certificate indicating the budget’s gender and equity responsiveness.
