2018/19 Budget: Lawmakers urge govt to bridge funding gap

Government should revise the proposed budget for the next fiscal year 2018/19 to accommodate a funding gap of over Rwf420 billion for urgent activities that need funding, especially development projects that need to be given priority. The recommendation was made by members of Lower House Tuesday after members of the standing committee on national budget and patrimony presented their analysis of the Budget Framework Paper (BFP) and the midterm budget estimates for the next three financial years (2018/19-2020/21). The BFP, which government tabled in the House early this month, provides the basis for the preparation of the draft law for the 2018-19 Budget, which is set to be presented to Parliament next month. The committee chairperson, Constance Mukayuhi Rwaka, told Parliament that a number of priority projects were not included in budget estimates for the next fiscal year yet they need urgent funding. Urging the government to find money for the activities in the next fiscal year and in the two other fiscal years that will follow, Mukayuhi said the needed funds are mainly for the development budget, with projects in need of funding available in different critical sectors such as electricity, water, roads, and healthcare. “They need to show us how they can bridge this gap. Even if they can’t fund everything this coming fiscal year, maybe they can make it a priority in the subsequent two years,” she said. While the over Rwf420 billion needed includes funds for both recurrent and development budget activities, the lawmakers urged the government to give more attention to the development budget. They urged government to cut any unnecessary expenditure in the recurrent budget and allocate more funds to development projects. “We want to make sure that money spent on services and materials used by public servants is reduced in favour of investing in development projects. Not everything on the recurrent budget can be cut but those that aren’t that needed can be cut and more money put in development projects,” Mukayuhi told The New Times shortly after making a presentation in Parliament. Under preliminary budget proposals for the next fiscal year as outlined in the BFP, out of the Rwf2.4 trillion proposed for the next fiscal year 2018/19, development expenditure (funds to be invested in development projects) is estimated at Rwf897.1 billion while Rwf1.3 trillion will go towards recurrent expenditure (money used to run government’s day-to-day activities). MP Théobald Mporanyi, a member of the budget committee, told The New Times that what his committee has suggested is for government to go back to the drawing board and cut any unnecessary funding to the recurrent budget. “The recommendation means that we are pushing the government to invest further in development projects wherever it is possible. We need more roads, electricity, water and industries more than we need water in our offices or travel,” he said. The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana, said that recommended revisions to the budget proposals will be made as much as possible because they are already in line with what the government wants. “It’s a good recommendation because we are also working on it in line with government’s seven-year programme and we have to increase the budget for development projects and efficiently use the budget for other activities. As recommended by Parliament, we will do everything possible to reduce the money spent on other activities so we can increase the budget for development activities,” he said in an interview. Ndagijimana added that they are likely to cut some unnecessary expenditures in the recurrent budget like money spent on travel and meetings and encourage more efficient use of office supplies so they can last longer. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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2018/19 Budget: Lawmakers urge govt to bridge funding gap