The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Matia Kasaija has said in the next financial year, priority will be placed on investment in oil and gas sector infrastructure to get oil resources expected to accelerate Uganda's economic transformation.
Kasaija made the remarks during the National Budget Conference for financial year 2023/24 held at Kololo Independence Grounds on September 13.
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Kasaija said the budget strategy for next financial year seeks to build on the progress achieved to date since the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.
The overall objective of the financial year 2023/24 budget strategy is to restore the economy to the medium-term growth path of 6-7% per annum, improve the competitiveness of the economy and sustain Uganda's socio-economic transformation agenda, according to the minister.
Kasaija said the resource envelope for the financial year 2023/2024 will not have any significant changes from the financial year 2022/2023.
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"Accordingly, the preliminary resource envelope for the next financial year will be issued in the first budget call circular for financial year 2023/2024. Government has finalised the preparation of its public investment financing strategy that guides the alignment of the different financing options to the appropriate programs and priorities," he said.
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In rural and urban areas, the minister said construction and rehabilitation of large, medium and small piped schemes and sanitation facilities will be enhanced with priority to underserved areas.
"Staffing levels will be enhanced by recruiting 2,650 primary school teachers in the least-staffed Local Governments to improve the teacher-pupil ratio. Next financial year's strategy in the education sector aims to increase the relevance of learning and knowledge building to the needs of society and the economy in particular, "he said.
He said debt services to revenue have increased to 30.6% in the financial year 2021/22 from 21.7% in the financial year 2019/2020.
He said that public debt management next financial year 2023/24 will continue to be guided by the principles set out in the Public Debt Management Framework 2018, the National Development Plan, and Uganda Vision 2040.
"To maintain debt sustainability, external financing will be obtained on largely concessional terms and near-concessional terms to finance projects that are critical for reducing the cost of doing business, "he said.
The Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja said they are now in the process of realigning the medium-term expenditure framework from sector to programme level to expand the discretion of programme working groups and reprioritisation of resources.
"Under the able leadership of President Museveni and the support of all stakeholders here and those that have not made it, we have been able to navigate the social-economic turbulences, and we are committed to consolidating our resilience to accelerate economic recovery," she said.
