2023-12-28 11:58:34
The Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning Audace Niyonzima was the guest of the Senate to defend this bill.
In his explanatory memorandum, Minister Niyonzima indicated that the budget review will serve as a tool for alignment with the performance criteria of the program based on budgetary exchanges with all institutions.
As for the principles taken into account to establish the state budget for the remaining period of the 2023-2024 financial year, he cited the ban on introducing new activities, the cancellation of activities for which appropriations are not not committed, the suspension of construction or rehabilitation of infrastructure on which work has not yet started to reprogram them in the 2024-2025 budget.
In addition, funds disbursed and not consumed are reallocated to other activities, he continued. The minister indicated that other modifications in the revised budget concern the reduction of taxes applied on sugar in order to make it available and accessible as well as the increase in taxes (from 100% to 200%) on champagnes and liquors classified as luxury goods.
Closing, the Minister in charge of Finance Audace Niyonzima explained that this revised draft budget reveals a deficit of BIF 426.3 billion compared to BIF 685.1 billion of the initial 2023-2024 budget.
The budget deficit thus increases from 6.1% in the initial budget to 3.8% in the revised budget. He also specified that the budget deficit presented by the revised budget will be financed through the net domestic debt of 278,289,594,166 billion BIF through drawings on treasury securities as well as financing from the central bank to the tune of 10 % of revenue excluding donations from the previous financial year, i.e. a maximum of BIF 165.4 billion. The deficit will also be financed by net external drawings in the form of loans of 148.1 billion, he added.
After the presentation, the senators addressed various questions relating to the state budget to the minister in charge of finance. Among these is the delay in unlocking the career and fictitious advancements in institutions with special statuses while the present bill provides for a budget line of fifteen billion Burundian francs allocated to this and a related decree has been issued. since the beginning of November.
In relation to this question, Minister Audace Niyonzima specified that alongside the commission set up to make the calculations which is still at work, there is still a lack of texts accompanying the decree which specify the modalities for advancing the grades, steps and other allowances in the same way for all the institutions concerned. Hence, he added, this subject will be included among the subjects on the agenda of the council of ministers scheduled for next week.
Speaking on this subject, the President of the Senate Emmanuel Sinzohagera condemned the negligence observed in the services concerned with monitoring this process. He recommended to the Minister in charge of Finance to devote all the necessary seriousness to it, to implement the measure of unfreezing the annals in the above-mentioned institutions, in order to avoid the frustrations observed among the staff of these institutions. . Other questions asked of the minister found answers relating to this.
After clarifications from Minister Audace Niyonzima to questions from senators, the latter adopted this bill.
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