As Finance Minister Matia Kasaija ascended the podium at Kololo Independence Grounds on June 13 to unveil the FY2024/2025 National Budget, the air was thick with anticipation. The nation waited with bated breath, eager to see how this financial blueprint would not only boost their incomes but also clamp down on the corruption sabotaging vital government development initiatives.

The theme of the new budget appeared to cover vital sectors of the economy: Full Monetisation of Uganda’s Economy through Commercial Agriculture, Industrialisation, Expanding and Broadening Services, Digital Transformation, and Market Access.

First, Kasaija said, the economy had fully recovered from various internal and external shocks that impacted performance in the past four years.

He said: “GDP is projected to grow by 6% this financial year 2023/24 compared to 5.3 percent in FY2022/23. This year’s growth of 6 percent is even more impressive when compared to Sub-Saharan Africa’s average of 3.8 percent, and the global average of 2.9 percent projected for the year 2024”.

As a result of this robust growth, Kasaija said, the size of the economy is now estimated at Shs202 trillion (US$53.3 billion) up from Shs 184.3 trillion (US$48.8 billion) in nominal terms.

If Ugandans agreed to share this GDP equally, he said, each citizen would enjoy a GDP per capita of US$1,146 compared to US$1,081 registered last Financial Year 2022/23.

He told the audience that the improved performance of the economy is on account of higher growth in all sectors – services, agriculture, and industry estimated to grow at 6.6%, 5.1%, and 5.8% respectively in FY2023/24.

As a result of the government’s fiscal consolidation agenda – which is intended to enhance revenue collection, limit borrowing for only critical and strategic investments, and control government expenditure, Kasaija said the government’s fiscal deficit has reduced to 4.5% of GDP this financial year from 5.5% of GDP last year.

The projected domestic revenue outturn for FY2023/24 is Shs 27.725 trillion against the target of Shs 29.672 trillion, leading to a revenue shortfall of over Shs 1.9 trillion.

“The Uganda Revenue Authority is working hard in the remaining days to reduce this shortfall. The revenue-to-GDP ratio is estimated at 13.6% of GDP in FY2023/24.

Kasaija said the new budget is anchored on four sectors to drive this growth – agro-Industrialisation, tourism development, mineral development, including oil & gas, and science technology and innovation (STI), including ICT.

“These are the ATMs that are going to mint money for Ugandans next financial year and in the medium term,” he said