KIGALI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda plans to increase the government spending by six percent in the 2023-2024 fiscal year compared with the previous budget to boost economic growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainties brought by geopolitical tensions in the world, a senior official has said.
The budget of 5.03 trillion Rwandan francs (about 4.76 billion U.S. dollars) "will reflect the medium-term fiscal path which allows for increased spending to reach National Strategy for Transformation goals while maintaining public debt at sustainable levels," said Uzziel Ndagijimana, the country's minister of finance and economic planning, while presenting the budget to the Rwandan parliament on Wednesday.
The country is striving for economic recovery despite the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, high inflation, supply chain issues caused by the Ukraine crisis, among other challenges, Ndagijimana said.
The Rwandan government will continue to support economic recovery through supporting businesses affected by the pandemic, while key investments in education, healthcare, information and communications technology, and agriculture will be at the forefront of the ongoing effort to invest in Rwanda's future, he added.
According to Ndagijimana, Rwanda's economy is projected to grow by 6.2 percent in 2023, compared to 8.2 percent in 2022. ■
