Peace Service Ambassador, Milton Kambula has warned that Ugandans should wait for hard and tough moments following the reading of the Shs72.136 trillion budget for the financial year 2024/2025 as presented by President Yoweri Museveni.
Amb. Kambula's warning is premised on a huge national budget expenditure of Shs72.136 trillion of which only Shs32.3 trillion, will be sourced from domestic revenue (tax and non-tax revenue).
Other sources include; budget support (grants and loans) of Shs1.3 trillion and domestic financing (domestic borrowing) of Shs8.9 trillion. Additional sources include project support of Shs 9.5 trillion and domestic debt refinancing (rollover) of Shs19.8 trillion.
Of this, government has planned to spend Shs19.8 trillion on Domestic debt refinancing which is 27.5% of the National budget. The external debt repayment will amount to Shs3.149 trillion.
"Uganda is a rich country but how has it reached to this point where you are collecting Shs32.3 trillion in tax and your hard-pressing debt burden is Shs36 trillion of the total public debt burden of Shs96.1 trillion," Kambula said.
Basing on the above statistics, Amb. Kambula noted that Ugandans should wait for hardest moments because what is being collected in tax is less than what is being planned and projected.
Kambula suggested that in order to reduce the effect, it is time to introduce a production government not a consumption government.
"We must increase the productivity of every Ugandan and we must transform education and align parents to nurture for Uganda new type of citizens: we must reduce on corruption and bad governance right away so that we have leadership that talks to the problems of the country," Kambula advised.
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The Peace Service Ambassador expressed worry that with such a budget that Ugandans can't fund themselves, crime, poverty, destruction of the environment and disease may escalate as a result of poor planning from the top leadership.
"All public services need money to be implemented and this depends on the amount of tax being collected! In Uganda's case now, money is being stolen left, right and centre. How are we going to deliver the vision 2040?" Kambula wondered.
"Of course it explains to you why the pot holes are persisting in a capital city like Kampala, the sitting room of Uganda and East Africa which is a shame. To be able to save the small money we collect in tax to do a good job, we must stop the extravagances, the stealing, the arrogance and laziness of our leaders in public sector."
He expressed concern that there will be ineffective delivery of public service and in the next 10 years, Ugandans may lose control of their beautiful country in mortgages.
