___________

KAMPALA - The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Ramathan Ggoobi, has revealed that the Government saved sh1.7 trillion from a number of austerity measures it took to reduce consumptive expenditure.

He outlined these expenditures on vehicles, workshops and seminars, furniture, and supplies, among others, while making a keynote speech at the 2024/25 post-budget dialogue in Kampala on Friday, June 14.

The dialogue, which took place at Kampala Serena Hotel, was on the implications of next financial year’s sh72.136 trillion budget on the private sector.  

“In the 2021/22 financial year, we repurposed the budget and got sh1.7 trillion from these austerity measures and it’s the money we used to pay for PDM [Parish Development Model] and enhancing salaries of scientists and we are continuing that. That is why the fiscal deficit is reducing,” he said.

He said the country’s fiscal deficit has reduced “very impressively” from 9.7% in 2020/21 to now 4.1% but they want it to get to 3.8% by mid this coming financial year.

“Managing government expenditure is a practical job which we are doing daily by ensuring that we reduce expenditure on things that don’t add value. We have cut travel abroad beyond half,” Ggoobi, who is also the country’s Secretary to the Treasury, said.

He recalled that when he took office in August 2021, the budget for travel abroad was sh240b but it is now sh105b.

“By the time I joined that ministry, travel abroad (budget) was sh240b; it's sh105b, still high but cut beyond half. We have cut the purchase of new cars in government. We only now buy cars which are needed,” he said.

Accounting officers warned

A day before reading the national budget on Thursday (June 13) at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, finance minister Matia Kasaija warned accounting officers of government ministries, departments and agencies against diverting or abusing public funds.

 “This time round, fooling is going to stop. If I give you money, please spend it as we have agreed. If there is a difficulty then come back to me and say either you gave me too much or too little and we study the case and I give you a solution,” he told the accounting officers in an interview with New Vision.

Kasaija stressed that all accounting officers must act in accordance with the law or else they will get problems.