The Minister of State for Finance (General Duties), Henry Musasizi has said that Uganda’s economy has remained resilient despite the external and internal shocks.
Speaking at Serena hotel on Monday, June 19, 2023, during the official opening of the high-level policy dialogue on the budget under the theme “Building Economic Resilience for Inclusive Growth: Opportunities, Priorities & Strategies,” the Minister noted that the economy has gained momentum and is growing at 5.5% this Financial Year, adding that it is expected to grow at 6% in the next Financial Year.
“Government is keen to ensure that both development policies and public service delivery records are pro-poor,” Musasizi said.
“The goal of the budget for next FY 2023/24 is wealth creation & ensuring that many Ugandans join the money economy,” Musasizi added.
He confirmed that the government has championed inclusive development policies and programs since the 1990s which include; Entandikwa, Poverty Eradication Action Plan, Operation Wealth Creation, Emyooga, social assistance grant for empowerment and now the Parish Development Model (PDM) with an aim of reducing incidence of poverty in the country.
The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi in his key note address, expressed gratitude to partners for working with the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development to ensure that the budget is well understood by ordinary citizens.
“The next Financial Year’s budget is aimed at achieving a core goal of redirecting resources towards wealth creation by facilitating more Ugandans to join the money economy,” Ggoobi said.
Ggoobi noted that, the government remains committed to provide long-term capital to support entrepreneurs through Uganda Development Corporation, in addition to financing ongoing initiatives such as the small business recovery fund (SBRF) and Emyooga program.
On Thursday, June 15, 2023, the Ministry of Finance presented the National budget which stands at 52.7 trillion Uganda shillings for the Financial Year 2023/2024.
The high level policy dialogue on the budget was attended by key stake holders from different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s), civil society actors, the media fraternity and other top government economists.
The budget meeting was sponsored by, Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), Civil Society budget advisory group (CSBAG) Uganda debt network in partnership with the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development.
