As the parliament is a bout to debate the 2024/2025 national budget there is a projected resource envelop of 52.722 trillion, finance has allocated more money to public administration programs than other sectors .
7.4 trillion is allocated to public administration and reduced the manufacturing budget from Uganda shillings 218 Billion in the current financial year 2023/2024 to 105billion in the 2024/2025 budget frame work paper.
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The public administration programs include the ministry of defence, Electoral commission, state house, prime minister, president’s office and the ministry of internal affairs.
With a soaring public debt burden resting on the shoulders of taxpayers, the opposition is worried about the trend of borrowing. Next financial year, the government proposes to spend a whooping UGX 22 trillion (49 per cent of the budget) on public debt repayment. To the opposition, is “worrying because the projections indicate that domestic revenue will only increase by about UGX 285 billion, where the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is expected to collect UGX 29.9 trillion.
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Inevitably, our total public debt burden, which stands at UGX 97.499 trillion as of June 30, 2023, according to the Auditor General, will continue growing. Domestic debt stock is at UGX 44.673 trillion, and external debt is at UGX 52.826 trillion. Debt stock has increased by 111% in the last five years, from UGX 46 trillion in 2018 to UGX 97.499 trillion in 2023. This financial year alone, we have so far grown the public debt by UGX 9.329 trillion (10.74 per cent) because, in June, it was UGX 86.839 trillion.
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National Resistance Movement (NRM) government is blamed for the rapid increase of debt stock on poor planning by the which takes loans before completing the designs and plans for the intended projects where by the country seems to be borrowing for fun.
