Title: The 2024 Finance Bill: What priorities for the Democratic Republic of Congo?
Introduction :
Each year, the adoption of the Finance Bill gives rise to numerous debates and questions. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, this crucial step is an opportunity for civil society to make its voice heard and advocate for a fair allocation of public resources. In this article, we will look at the main concerns of civil society regarding the 2024 Finance Bill and the measures they are calling for.
An increase in the Agriculture and Health budgets, but concerns for Education:
Civil society is delighted to see that the government has planned a significant increase in the Agriculture and Health budgets. Indeed, with an increase of 12.55% for Agriculture and 14.52% for Health, it is clear that these priority sectors will benefit from additional resources to support their development.
However, civil society also expresses concerns about the decline in the Education budget. While it was already at 21.61% in the Finance Law for the 2021 financial year, it rose to only 18.44% in the 2024 Finance Bill. For civil society, it is essential that the budget of Education be reassessed in order to enable the implementation of projects promoting the creation of agricultural and rural jobs, as well as the establishment of universal health coverage. She therefore calls for reducing the Education budget to at least 20%.
Concerning omissions in the security sector:
Another point of concern for civil society concerns the security sector. Indeed, it noted that the salaries and bonuses of Territorial Administrators and their recently appointed Assistants are not provided for in the 2024 Finance Bill. This omission worries civil society, which underlines that depriving these actors of their wages could lead to an increase in insecurity in the country. She therefore calls on national deputies to allocate credits for salaries and to increase the budgets dedicated to security governance in the Territories.
Conclusion :
The 2024 Finance Bill in the Democratic Republic of Congo raises many questions and concerns for civil society. While she welcomes certain budgetary increases, she also calls for a reassessment of the Education budget and consideration of security issues. It is important for policymakers to take these concerns into consideration to ensure equitable allocation of public resources and meet the priority needs of the country.