By Business Insider Reporter, Dodoma
Five government ministries have received the smallest allocations in Tanzania’s 2025/26 national budget – so small, in fact, that their combined funding does not surpass the allocation of just one of the top five most-funded ministries.
The Ministry of Labour, Youth, Employment and Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism make up the list of least-funded ministries in the over TSh 56 trillion budget.
Together, these five ministries have been allocated a total of TSh 978 billion, which is significantly less than the TSh 1.398 trillion allocated to the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (TAMISEMI) alone, the fifth among the top-funded ministries.
The Ministry of Labour, Youth, Employment and Persons with Disabilities, led by Ridhiwani Kikwete, received the lowest allocation – TSh 43 billion for the coming fiscal year, up slightly from TSh 38 billion in the current budget ending this June.
Following closely is the Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, under Dr. Dorothy Gwajima, which has been allocated TSh 76 billion – an increase from TSh 67 billion in the ending fiscal year.
Third is the Ministry of Finance, headed by flamboyant Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba, with an operational allocation of TSh 222 billion, up from TSh 188 billion.
However, this figure excludes budget allocations for independent departments and national financial obligations that fall under the ministry’s umbrella.
When national debt servicing and other departmental allocations are included, the Ministry of Finance commands a total budget of over TSh 20 trillion – by far the largest of any ministry and nearly half of the entire government budget.
Departments under the Ministry of Finance with their 2025/26 annual budget allocations include:
- National Debt Servicing (TSh 14.2 trillion)
- Internal Auditor General (TSh 15 billion)
- Joint Finance Commission (TSh 6 billion)
- Financial Intelligence Unit (TSh 5.16 billion)
- Treasury Services (TSh 2.46 trillion)
- General Fund Services (TSh 3.14 trillion)
- Accountant General’s Office (TSh 105.8 billion)
- National Audit Office (TSh 122.51 billion)
Next in the list of least-funded ministries is the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, with a budget of TSh 291 billion for 2025/26, up from TSh 180 billion in the outgoing year.
Finally, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism rounds out the bottom five with an allocation of TSh 389 billion, an increase from TSh 348 billion in the current year.
Big Budget ‘winners’
On the other end of the spectrum, the ministries with the largest allocations in the 2025/26 national budget are TAMISEMI, Health, Works, Energy, and Transport, which together have been allocated TSh 11.27 trillion – up from TSh 9.37 trillion last year.
Leading the list is the Ministry of Transport, which has been allocated TSh 2.74 trillion, slightly higher than the TSh 2.72 trillion it received in 2024/25.
It is followed by the Ministry of Energy, led by Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Doto Biteko, with a budget of TSh 2.24 trillion, a significant rise from TSh 1.88 trillion in the previous fiscal year.
Third is the Ministry of Works, which received an allocation of TSh 2.28 trillion, up from TSh 1.76 trillion.
The Ministry of Health will receive TSh 1.61 trillion for 2025/26, compared to TSh 1.31 trillion in the outgoing year.
Rounding off the top five is TAMISEMI, with an allocation of TSh 1.39 trillion, up from TSh 1.1 trillion in the current year. Although not among the top five, the Ministry of Water also received a notable allocation of TSh 1.01 trillion, joining the club of ministries with trillion-shilling budgets.
