Richard Tusabe, the Minister of State in charge of National Treasury in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has said that the government plans to spend Rwf3,807 billion in the 2021/22 fiscal year. The spending represents a 9.8 per cent increase from the current budget, which ends on June 30, and demonstrates efforts to lift the economy from the coronavirus-induced slump. The Minister disclosed this while presenting the Budget Framework Paper to both chambers of parliament on Wednesday. He highlighted that some Rwf2543.3 billion or 67 per cent of the total budget is expected to be financed by domestic revenue. Sixteen per cent of the total budget is expected to be financed by foreign grants, while international debt will account for 17 per cent. Among the priorities, Tusabe pointed out that the government plans to expand the economic recovery fund, investing in the Covid-19 vaccination programme as well as the private sector development. The Rwandan economy contracted by 3.4 per cent in 2020 and recorded the sharpest fall in production in the last 27 years owing to the Covid-19 outbreak—characterised by lockdown and other restrictions. Tusabe told parliamentarians that various measures including a boost public spending have been designed to propel the economy to pre-Covid-19 growth rates.
