Rwanda has announced plans to increase its 2021/2022 budget by $220.8 million from its initial $3.2 billion, hitting $3.4 billion. This comes even as the government battles disruptions from the global COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to revive the economy.
However, the proposed changes are still subject to approval by Parliament.
The budget, primarily funded by domestic revenues projected to increase from $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion, will majorly spread across the education sector, followed by the health sector; to enable infrastructure expansion, purchase of equipment and staffing occasioned by the global health emergency.
It will also be funded by external resources totalling $1.3 billion, with $596.9 million mobilised from grants and $772.5 million acquired through foreign debt facilities.
Rwanda’s National Treasury projects a rise in both tax revenues and non-tax revenues to $1.5 billion and $206.5 million, respectively, an upward revision from $1.4 billion and $185.8 million.
The East African reports that a huge chunk of the budget will be directed towards financing development projects and routine state expenditures, including reimbursement of public debts and interest payments estimated to cost $341.4 million.
The National Institute of Statistics shows that GDP growth decreased by 3.6% in Q3 2020 compared with the same period in 2019.
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