The Minister of State Finance and Planning, Amos Lugoloobi on Thursday afternoon presented the budget estimates for the 2022/2023 financial year totaling Shs47.2 trillion.
The Public Finance Management Act requires the Minister of Finance to present annual budget estimates by 01 April of the preceding year.
In his presentation during Plenary Sitting, Lugoloobi asked the lawmakers to consider the economic environment in which the budget was prepared, citing the inability to borrow over 53.9 percent.
He laid the annual budget estimates along with the revised National Budget Framework Paper (BFP) 2022/2023, the Appropriation Bill, 2022, Charter of Fiscal responsibility and Certificate of Gender and Equity Compliance among others.
The Shadow Minister of Finance, Muwanga Kivumbi, also the Butambala County legislator observed that that the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development have performed well urging that such standards should be kept.
“We are reaping benefits from former committee chairpersons appointed ministers. This should be a learning curve to the appointing authority that picking among us, things move smoothly because they know the technical know-how,” says Kivumbi. He however, added that the Treasury Memoranda and list of accounting officers should have been sent to legislators earlier, calling on committees to do the right thing when scrutinizing the documents.
But the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga described the National Budget Framework Paper (BFP) 2022/2023 as shoddy work characterized by copy paste method of work, and did not capture an earlier recommendations made by Parliament.
However, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa referred the budget estimates to the Parliament’s Committee on Budget and relevant sectoral committees for further scrutiny within the requisite timeline.
“I request that you look at Rule 148 and 149 of our Rules of Procedure to ensure you report in time,” he said adding that, “we shall give you enough time to handle the budget at committee level. We shall not have plenary sittings”.
Parliament approved the National BFP on 28 January 2022 and this formed a basis for the finalization of budget estimates for 2022/2023.
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