Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has called for stronger budget credibility, fiscal discipline and value for money as Uganda works to improve the planning and implementation of the national budget.

Musasizi made the remarks during a meeting with staff from the Budget Directorate at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. The meeting focused on strengthening the processes used to plan, prepare and implement Uganda’s national budget.

The Budget Directorate team was led by Acting Director Budget Hannington Ashaba.

Musasizi said protecting the credibility of the budget is one of his key priorities at the Ministry of Finance and across government. He stressed that public resources should be allocated according to approved plans and national priorities.

The Minister also urged government officials to exercise greater discipline when committing public funds. He said expenditure proposals should be carefully assessed and scrutinised to ensure that government spending delivers tangible results to citizens.

He further called for government business to be handled more efficiently and promptly, while maintaining the procedures and controls required under public financial management.

Musasizi also highlighted the need to improve procedures surrounding the issuance of Certificates of Financial Implication.

He said such certificates should be based on clear and credible assumptions supporting proposed government policies and programmes. The certificates are intended to help establish the financial implications of proposed measures before they are implemented.

The Minister additionally emphasised the importance of wider ownership of the budget process across government.

He called on government institutions to provide the necessary information on time so that the national budget can be prepared in a credible and timely manner.

During the meeting, Ashaba outlined the Budget Directorate's priorities, which include protecting budget credibility, preserving fiscal space, strengthening discipline in public investment and improving the connection between planning, budgeting and results.

The Directorate also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Uganda's ambition of building a $500 billion economy.

According to the Directorate, this will include prioritising resources for areas such as financial inclusion, ATMs and other economic enablers.

The meeting comes as the Ministry of Finance continues to emphasise stronger planning, responsible use of public resources and closer alignment between government spending and national development priorities.