By Frank Kamuntu
Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, has issued the First Budget Call Circular for the 2025/26 national budget, setting new financial targets and highlighting a significant reduction in the overall budget.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is expected to collect UGX33.182 trillion, an increase from the UGX31.982 trillion target for 2024/25. However, the total budget has been scaled down to UGX57.441 trillion, a notable reduction from the ambitious UGX72.136 trillion budget for the current fiscal year.
According to the circular, the government’s revenue sources for FY 2025/26 are projected as follows: domestic revenue (UGX33.182 trillion), the Petroleum Fund (UGX500 billion), budget support (UGX30 billion), domestic borrowing (UGX4.011 trillion), project support or external financing (UGX12.812 trillion), domestic refinancing (UGX6.612 trillion), and local government revenue (UGX293 billion).
Government plans to allocate UGX7.934 trillion towards staff salaries, UGX12.1 trillion for non-wage expenditures, and UGX4.211 trillion for development projects critical to Ugandans. While the government aims to reduce external borrowing by UGX1.364 trillion, from UGX1.394 trillion to UGX29.9 billion, external debt repayment will increase from UGX3.149 trillion to UGX4.011 trillion, marking an increment of UGX882.5 billion.
In the sector allocations, Human Capital Development (covering education and health) will receive the highest share of UGX9.394 trillion, followed by Governance and Security at UGX7.634 trillion, and Integrated Transport Infrastructure at UGX6.354 trillion. Sectors receiving the least funding include Mineral Development (UGX25.55 billion), Mindset Change (UGX36.75 billion), and Information Technology & Digital Transformation (UGX168.01 billion).
The budget will focus on the theme: “Full monetization of Uganda’s Economy through commercial agriculture, industrialization, expanding and broadening services, digital transformation, and market access.” Ggoobi emphasized that the key objective is to elevate Uganda’s economic growth to over 8% annually in the medium term, with a vision to expand the economy tenfold from US$53 billion to US$500 billion by 2040, particularly through the onset of commercial oil and gas production.
Ggoobi urged Accounting Officers to prioritize resource allocation toward interventions that offer the highest economic value. “You should focus the available funding on critical interventions and avoid spreading resources thinly on non-essential activities,” he stressed.
Additionally, the Ministry of Finance instructed all Accounting Officers to budget for Digital Number Plates for government vehicles, a security measure under the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) aimed at tracking vehicles and improving road safety. Ggoobi also emphasized the importance of completing ongoing public projects rather than initiating new ones, citing over-commitment of resources by various government agencies.
Accounting Officers have been given a deadline of November 7, 2024, to submit their Budget Framework Papers for FY2025/26, allowing for the consolidation of the National Budget Framework Paper for submission to Parliament by the end of the year.
