Parliament during a Tuesday plenary adopted the National Budget Framework Paper for the Financial Year (FY) 2024/25.

In December 2023, the government initiated the budget approval process for the financial year 2024/2025 through the tabling of the National Budget Framework Paper (BFP) amounting to Shs52.7 trillion.

The document was tabled in Parliament by the Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (General duties), Henry Musasizi during the Plenary sitting on Wednesday, 12 December 2023.

Musasizi said that 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,” he said.

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 implementation of public financing, including Public Private Partnerships will also be used as a strategy to finance the 2024/2025 budget.

The Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among, upon the tabling of the National Budget Framework Paper, charged Members of Parliament to urgently embark on processing the 2024/2025 National Budget.

“The earlier we prepare the budget, the better. This business of processing tax bills on the last day together with the Appropriation Bill is not good. We for example need to process tax bills early such that we know where we are getting money [from],” Among said.

She asked the sectoral committees to scrutinize the Budget Framework Paper and report to the Committee on the Budget by 15 January 2024, earlier than the deadline provided for in the Public Finance Management Act, 2015 which prescribes 01 February.

The BFP is the government’s overall strategy document for the budget and provides the link between the Government’s policies and the annual budget. It contains information such as revenue projections, the resource envelope, priority interventions, and proposed sectoral expenditure plans.

Among also directed that the Ministerial Policy Statements be tabled by 10 March 2024 from where the Leader of the Opposition draws the alternative policy statement. The Leader of the Opposition will have to present alternative policy statements by 20 March 2024.

By 25 March 2024, the Speaker directed that the proposed National Budget for 2024/2025 should be tabled in Parliament.

This is proceeded by the processing of ministerial statements by House Sectoral Committees which the Speaker asked to report to the House by 15 April 2024.

Parliament will then process the tax bills which Among said should be ready by 01 May 2024.