Kenya, inayonyimwa misaada na wafadhili na kusumbuliwa na matatizo ya ukabila, bado inaendelea kusonga mbele kimaendeleo kwa kasi kufananisha na Tanzania yenye amani tele na inayopewa misaada lukuki na wafadhili. Je, tumelogwa Watanzania? Tatizo letu ni nini?
PREVIEW-Tanzania budget to tackle inflation, lift growth
* WHAT: Tanzania's 2011/12 budget presentation
* WHEN: June 8, 1300 GMT
* Spending seen up 16.6 percent, donor contribution to fall
By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
DAR ES SALAAM, June 6 (Reuters) - Tanzania's 2011/12 (July-June) budget to be unveiled on Wednesday will raise public spending and introduce measures targeted against spiralling inflation and faltering economic growth.
The east African nation plans to spend 13.52 trillion shillings ($8.7 billion) during the next fiscal year, Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo said in a presentation last week to a parliamentary committee, up from 11.6 trillion shillings this year.
Donors have slashed funding pledges for the budget for a second straight fiscal year citing concerns about the slow pace of reforms and corruption in the nation of 40.7 million people.
Tanzania is among the continent's biggest per capita aid recipients and is expected to fund almost 29 percent of this year's spending with the help of donors.
Mkulo said the government will spend 8.6 trillion shillings on recurrent expenditure and 4.92 trillion shillings on development projects. Some 3.92 trillion shillings of the budget will be sourced from foreign aid and loans.
"The rising inflation rate is being caused by, among other things, higher fuel prices in the world market, lack of reliable power thus affecting production, and food shortages in neighbouring countries," he said.
Tanzania's year-on-year inflation rate TZCPIY=ECI rose for the sixth straight month to 8.6 percent in April from 8.0 percent in March on higher food and fuel prices. [ID:nLDE74F148]
The government is targeting a revenue to GDP ratio of 17.2 percent in 2011/12 by collecting tax revenues of 6.77 trillion shillings, up from an estimated 5.55 trillion shillings this year, or 16 percent of GDP, Mkulo said.
The government will cut taxes on fuel imports, help the state-run power utility secure loans to set up new power plants and improve food supplies during the next fiscal year.
East Africa's second largest economy has been plagued by frequent power outages since December, prompting the International Monetary Fund to revise its 2011 growth forecast down to 6 percent from 7.2 percent previously.
"DAMAGED REPUTATION"
Mkulo said the government's development spending in 2011/12 will focus on infrastructure, power generation, agriculture, education and health.
He said the government would seek concessional and commercial loans to finance major development projects.
Donors cut funding pledges for the budget to $453 million from $534 million a year ago, they said in May.
However, they said additional funds amounting to more than $100 million could be made available to the country depending on key performance indicators in 2011.
Donors that provide general budget support to Tanzania are the African Development Bank, Canada, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Britain and the World Bank.
The donors said while much had been achieved, there were important areas where progress had been slower than expected.
"A number of high-level corruption cases between 2000 and 2008 have damaged Tanzania's reputation ... government took some decisive actions that helped restore confidence, but it remains a concern that some of these cases have not been resolved," said the donors.
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Kenya 2011/12 budget to rise to $13.4 bln
Thu Jun 2, 2011 9:31am GMT
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya will raise its public spending for the 2011/12 fiscal year to 1.155 trillion shillings, the government said on Thursday.
Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta said he would increase spending on infrastructure by a third to 221 billion shillings compared with last year. Development expenditure would amount to 398.6 billion shillings, he said.
Last year's budget came in at just under a trillion shillings.
Kenyatta is embroiled in a row over the date on which he will read the budget to parliament, which has been slated for June 8, the same day as the other four members of the East African Community bloc will unveil their budgets.
Under the terms of Kenya's new constitution, the finance minister should make public his estimates of government revenue and expenditure for the upcoming fiscal year two months ahead of the budget reading.
Kenyatta failed to do this, triggering a legal case filed by a political activist for the reading to be postponed. Nairobi's High Court will make its ruling later on Thursday.
Kenya's parliamentary speaker is also expected to rule on the matter at the same time.
"Parliament should take into consideration that Kenya is a member in standing in the East Africa Community (EAC) and we are bound by its treaties," Kenyatta told a news conference, referring to the obligation of EAC members to synchronise their budget readings.
