By Frank Kamuntu
Mr Julius Mukunda the Executive Director of the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) has told the government that Uganda’s economy is on a time bomb due to escalating debts and reckless borrowings.
Mukunda raised the alarm during the FY2024/25 CSO pre-budget held on 1st February 2024 at Imperial Royale Hotel where Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Dev’t Hon. Matia Kasaija was the guest of honour.
”We are not here to blame anyone but rather to say that if we can fix some issues like the debt issue, then our economy can thrive. But also to let people know that as CSOs we are watching,” said Mukunda.
Mukunda also revealed that Uganda can save big if the budget lines for travel inland & abroad were halved for the proposed budget 2024/2025. ”We would save UGX 389bn which would be reallocated to e.g. Human Capital Dev’t for nutrition activities.”
On his part, Kasaija said there is a need for Gov’t to stop wasteful expenditures. He said money will never be enough; but as intelligent, people should prioritize and allocate money to areas that can’t wait.
According to the Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (General duties), Hon. Henry Musasizi the priority areas in 2024/2025 will include; investing in people, roads, peace and security, electricity generation and transmission lines, and effective management of natural disasters.
“The theme of the budget for the financial year 2024/2025 remains the same as the financial year 2023/2024 which is full monetization of Uganda’s economy through commercial agriculture, industrialization, expanding and broadening services, digital transformation and market access,” says Musasizi.
He added that the Shs52.7 trillion budget will be financed through improved revenue collection and controlled borrowing to reduce debt servicing costs while supporting faster socio-economic transformation, among others.
Musasizi added that the implementation of public financing, including Public Private Partnerships, will also be used as a strategy to finance the 2024/2025 budget.
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