Burundi’s Parliament has approved a record 7.02 trillion Burundi franc ($2.35 billion) national budget for the 2026/27 fiscal year, endorsing an ambitious spending plan that relies heavily on increased domestic revenue collection at a time when external financing is shrinking.
Lawmakers adopted the Finance Bill on Friday, approving total expenditures of 7,020,612,152,951 francs. The legislation now awaits presidential assent before it can enter into force ahead of the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The budget projects domestic revenues of 4.22 trillion francs ($1.41 billion), a 26.1 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. The target follows a nearly 29 percent increase projected in the 2025/26 budget, underscoring the government’s strategy of financing a growing share of public expenditure through domestic resources.
Government officials say the projections are supported by continued implementation of the revised National Development Plan, including investments in irrigated agriculture, export diversification, mining production and railway infrastructure.
“This growth recovery is attributable to measures taken by the Government through the continuation of major programmes and projects under the revised National Development Plan, including the expansion and intensification of irrigated agricultural production, diversification of export products, the gradual increase in mineral production and railway construction,” the budget document states.
The government forecasts economic growth of 5.5 percent during the fiscal year, a figure that exceeds recent estimates by international financial institutions.
External Financing Continues to Fall
Despite the optimistic revenue projections, the budget reveals growing pressure on Burundi’s public finances from declining external support.
Net external financing is projected at negative 103.8 billion francs ($34.7 million) in 2026/27, compared with negative 51.6 billion francs in 2025/26. The figures indicate that debt repayments and other outflows are expected to exceed incoming external financing for a second consecutive year.
To help close the financing gap, the government plans to borrow 545.25 billion francs ($182 million) from domestic banks and financial institutions.
The approved budget also projects a wider fiscal deficit.
“The overall deficit of the 2026/27 Finance Law amounts to 441.3 billion BIF compared with 335.7 billion BIF in 2025/26,” the document states.
The deficit is expected to increase by approximately 31.5 percent year-on-year.
New Taxes and Revenue Measures
The Finance Bill introduces a series of new tax and non-tax revenue measures designed to boost government income.
Article 109 allocates 50 percent of gold export profit margins to the central bank, while Article 140 introduces a 2 percent levy on imports originating outside Africa. The government estimates the import charge will generate about 40 billion francs annually.
Article 167 establishes a fishing royalty expected to raise approximately 30 billion francs, while additional measures expand taxation and fees across several sectors, including wellness and recreational services.
The legislation also introduces a five-million-franc fee for changes to cargo destinations, a measure authorities say is intended to curb customs-related abuses involving the declared destination of imported goods.
Questions Over Revenue Targets
The ambitious revenue projections come as Burundi continues to face challenges in meeting collection targets.
The government has pledged to eliminate so-called ghost workers through a real-time public payroll inventory, arguing that tighter personnel controls will improve expenditure management and reduce waste.
However, recent performance has raised questions about the feasibility of the revenue targets. The Office Burundais des Recettes (OBR) has struggled to meet collection objectives in recent fiscal years, while tax exemptions have continued to weigh on government revenues.
Budget transparency also remains limited. Burundi ranks among the world’s lowest-performing countries on international budget transparency assessments, making independent verification of fiscal assumptions difficult.
Awaiting Presidential Assent
Following parliamentary approval, the Finance Bill now moves to President Évariste Ndayishimiye for assent.
If signed into law, the 2026/27 budget will become the largest in Burundi’s history, testing the government’s ability to substantially increase domestic revenues while managing declining external financing and a widening fiscal deficit.
