Key Budget aspects you should know

National Budget Briefcase. File Photo

What you need to know:

The 2015/16 is likely to be heavy on expenditure considering that 2016 will be an election year. Othman Semakula looks at key issues that every Ugandan should know about in the proposed new Budget.

Budget theme

The theme for the 2015/16 Budget is “Maintaining infrastructure investment and promoting excellence in public service provision for wealth creation and socio-economic transformation of Uganda’s economy. The underlying objective of this theme is to ensure continuous removal of the binding constraints that impede socio-economic transformation.
GDP
Annual GDP will in 2015/16 grow by a projected 5.8 per cent up from the 2014/15 rate of 5.3 per cent. However, this will be lower than the 7.2 average projection of National Planning Authority on the account of external developments such as the global economic downturn, but also execution delays in some of the major transport and energy projects here.
Inflation and shilling

The shilling, which hit its lowest mark (Shs3,115) in March, is expected to stay volatile in the 2015/16 financial year on the account of continued strong recovery of the US economy. This, in turn, will drive up inflation but is likely to stay below the targeted 5 per cent.

Employment

According to data from Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the country’s productive population hit 19.2 million people but more than 50 per cent of these are not gainfully employed. However, in the 2015/16 financial year, in order to mitigate the unemployment cancer government plans to absorb 8.2 million people into the job market through supporting key growth sectors, human resource development, promotion of private sector growth and development, among others.
Passport

Any Ugandan intending to get a passport will in the 2015/16 financial year be required to pay Shs150,000 up from Shs120,000. This is the second time government is increasing the cost of a passport after it was in the last financial year increased from Shs80,000 to Shs120,000.
Fuel

Government proposed that Excise Duty for every litre of fuel (gasoline) be increased to Shs1,000. This will be an increase of Shs50 down from Shs950 that had been levied on every litre of petrol in the 2014/15 financial year. Excise Duty on gas oil (automotive, light, amber for high speed engine) will be charged Shs680 per litre.

2016 election

The Electoral Commission will spend a combined sum of about Shs115b in preparation for the 2016 Presidential, Parliamentary and local council elections. The money will be costed on three items including the general election road map, voter verification and identification and funding of political parties.

However, the amount will be lower compared to the Shs218b that the commission had requested for. The Presidential and Parliamentary elections are expected to be held in February, 2016.

Papal visit

Although the Pope’s visit has not been officially confirmed, government under the Office of the President has set aside Shs5b to prepare for his coming.
Pope Francis early this year told reporters that he would visit Uganda and Central African Republic, although the Catholic Church continues to maintain that no confirmation to that effect has so far been issued. The Pope’s visit, has been an ongoing negotiation that is understood to have been kicked off by former prime minister Amama Mbabazi and later followed up by President Museveni.