BUJUMBURA June 13th (ABP) – Total State expenditure increases from BIF 2,392.3 billion in 2022/2023 to 3,952.9 billion for the 2023/2024 financial year, an increase of 65.23%”, Mr. Audace Niyonzima, Minister of Finance, Budget and Development Planning said. He was the guest of the National Assembly, on Monday, June 12, 2023, to speak on the bill setting the budget General of the State, financial year 2023/2024, submitted to MPs for analysis and adoption.
Speaking about this 65.23% increase in State expenditure compared to the previous year, Mr. Niyonzima explained that it is due, on the one hand, to the increase in investment of national resources for the implementation of government priority projects. That increase went from BIF 794.03 billion for the 2022/2023 financial year to BIF 1,058.9 billion for the 2023/2024 financial year.
The increase in current expenditure is the other aspect that has influenced the increase in general government expenditure. At this level, the Minister in charge of finance specified that current expenditure has increased from BIF 1,204.5 billion for the 2022/2023 financial year to 2,027.8 for the 2023/2024 financial year, an increase of 68.3%.
The Minister in charge of finance has, moreover, demonstrated that revenue and donations show an increase of 46.9% compared to the previous year. The latter go from BIF 2,194.8 billion for the 2022/2023 financial year to BIF 3,224.07 for the 2023/2024 FY. An increase which, according to him, stems from the “budgetary impacts of the new tax revenue provisions and not tax.”
The overall deficit of that general budget project amounts to 728.9 billion BIF against 197.4 billion BIF in 2022/2023″, Mr. Niyonzima estimated.
Mr. Niyonzima continued to say by indicating that “net external financing amounts to BIF 148.1 billion while net internal financing is BIF 580.8 billion. He concluded that “the bill of the general State budget for the 2023/2024 financial year is in balance”.