Parliament passes national budget today

By Moses Mulondo

In the budget, which is to the tune of 29trillion, government continues to give priority to the works and transport sector and the energy sectors.

In the last budget committee meeting which ended late at night yesterday, MPs resolved to allocate an extra sh20b to the Electoral Commission to increase the salaries of its staff as part of the measures aimed at improving the independence of the electoral body.

In its report, the budget committee raises a red flag against the rate at which Uganda government is borrowing arguing it is unsustainable.

Out of the sh29trillion, sh15trillion is expected to come from government revenue collections and the remaining balance will come from external and internal borrowing.

According to Uganda Debt Network, Uganda's debt has reached 11billion dollars (about 39.6trillions).

 On the committee were sharply divided on the proposal to reallocate sh20b meant for state scholarships to add it to the sh6b meant for the national students loan scheme.