The national budget is the primary legal and economic document that outlines the government’s expenditure plans and revenue projections for a specific financial year.
The Budget Cycle
The budgetary process follows a continuous, highly regulated legal cycle that typically spans four distinct operational phases:
  1. Formulation: The executive branch (Treasury) projects macroeconomic indicators, sets spending ceilings, and compiles budget proposals from individual government ministries and departments.
  2. Approval and Authorization: The budget is presented to Parliament or the National Assembly as an Appropriation Bill. Lawmakers debate, amend, and vote to pass the bill into law, giving the government the legal right to spend public funds.
  3. Execution: Government ministries spend their allocated funds to implement public programs, managed through strict financial systems to prevent overspending.
  4. Audit and Oversight: Independent state bodies (such as the Auditor-General) examine public accounting books after the financial year closes to confirm that funds were spent legally and transparently.

Classification of Public Expenditure
  • Recurrent Expenditure: Ongoing operational costs required to run the day-to-day business of government. This includes civil servant salaries, ministry operational supplies, and interest payments on public debt.
  • Development (Capital) Expenditure: Investments in long-term public assets that build the country’s economic capacity. Examples include building highways, constructing hospitals, expanding power grids, and funding research.

 
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