Rwanda Parliament has approved budget for fiscal year 2021/22 with a large percentage of the funding expected to be solicited within and towards COVID-19 economic recovery.
The total budget will amount to Rwf3, 806.95 billion from the proposed Rwf3, 807billion, which will have Rwf2, 543.3billion (67%) internal financing while external funding will reach 612.2 (16%), and loans, to 651.5billion (17%).
Parliament Economic and Budget Committee Chairman, Omar Munyaneza said that the internally and externally generated budget funding will contribute 84% of the budget execution.
“This will contribute to the country’s resilience agenda,” Munyaneza said while presenting the committee’s budget report to parliament this June 28, 2021.
Unlike the development budget, Munyaneza said that there has been a significant increase in the budget where the current expenditure will focus on the needs under the Economic Recovery Plan with much attention to the key economic sectors.
The current expenditure budget will be at Rwf2, 413.6billion compared to the development budget which will stand at Rwf1, 393.2 billion.
“The reasons are to continue cushioning effects of the COVID pandemic, to pay salaries for new teachers and a 10 percent teacher’s increase, school feeding and access to clean water,” Munyaneza said.
Other areas of focus will be on addressing COVID-19 with increase numbers of medics, hospitals while in education, Technical schools (TVET) will also get sufficient funding for equipment and consumables.
Immediate Resources Allocation
The government’s expenditure policies in the fiscal year 2021/22 are guided by three National Strategy for Transformation (NST) priorities and objectives.
To this end, the Economic Transformation pillar takes the lion’s share of the resources at Rwf2, 234.2 billion equivalent to 58.7 %.
Social transformation will take up to Rwf1, 034.3 billion (27.2 %) while transformational governance is allocated Rwf538.4 billion representing 14.01% of the total budget.
However, considering inputs of lawmakers on the budget framework and midterm budget with available resources, the Committee said that the 2021-22 budget adjustments were considered but redistributed to accommodate areas of urgent need and crucial budget gaps.
Munyaneza said this resulted to some budget-funded institutions getting more money in accordance to needs while others request will be addressed in the midterm and revised budget.
The revised considerations included 173 budget gaps requiring Rwf311.2billion which were revisited for the 2020/21 budget.
For instance, the Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK) got Rwf361.5 for replacing 10-year old and outdated neonatal equipment, while through the ministry of Agriculture, Bella Flowers got Rwf942.6million to improve its horticulture forex incomes in Rwanda.
Other 111 budget gaps worth Rwf172.9billion identified by MPs saw 33 of them receive Rwf11.9billion.
These include Rwf1.392billion request for ministry of sport to participate in international games.
The National Human Rights Commission will get Rwf165.9 million to address four gaps sighted by lawmakers in meeting its mandate.
For 47 gaps worth Rwf132.8billion, the budget managed to cover only seven (Rwf9.4billion) solicited and other 3 gaps (Rwf1.3billion) will be considered in the midterm with expected funding from donors.
For example, the committee chairperson said budget has provided Rwf135.6million to cover gaps in paying off classroom construction works in Ngororero district out of the Rwf270million calculated and the rest will come from World Bank.
