The National Budget: How Rwanda Plans Its Money

1Who paid for the road?

A new tarmac road has reached Umutoni's village in Nyamasheke. Motos, buses and lorries full of tea now travel quickly to the town. "Who paid for this road?" Umutoni asks her teacher. "In a way, you all did," says the teacher, "through the national budget."

2What is the national budget?

The national budget is the Government's plan of the money it expects to collect (revenue) and how it will spend it (expenditure) during one fiscal year. In Rwanda, the fiscal year runs from 1 July to 30 June.

• It is prepared by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN).
• It is discussed and approved by Parliament before the year starts.

3Rwanda's budget for 2026–27

In June 2026, Parliament approved a budget of Frw 7,796.3 billion (about 7.8 trillion francs) for the year from July 2026 to June 2027. That is 12% more than the year before.

4Sources of government revenue

1. Taxes, collected by the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA):
   • income tax taken from workers' pay and from company profits;
   • VAT (value added tax), 18% on most goods and services;
   • customs duties on goods brought in from other countries;
   • excise duty on things such as drinks and cigarettes.
2. Non-tax revenue: fees (for example for a passport or a driving licence), fines, and permits to visit national parks, such as gorilla-trekking permits.
3. Grants and loans from development partners.

5Kinds of government expenditure

6Why the national budget is important

• It shows the country's priorities, such as farming, jobs, health and education.
• It helps the Government avoid waste. Parliament and the Auditor General check how the money was used.
• It pays for public services that no family could build alone.
• It creates jobs, for example in road building.
• When more of the budget comes from Rwanda's own revenue, the country depends less on aid.

7Your part

Adults pay taxes. Everyone can ask for an EBM receipt (from the Electronic Billing Machine) when buying something, which helps RRA collect the VAT the shop has charged. And everyone can protect public property, which the budget paid for.

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