Budget to fight water borne diseases -Kandodo
The Minster of Finance Ken Kandodo has assured Malawians that government will strive to rehabilitate both Blantyre and Lilongwe Water Boards in a bid to contain water borne diseases.
Kandodo was speaking on Friday at Parliament when he presented the 2009-2010 financial year.
He said government was aware that the water utility sector needs to improve its pumping and distribution capacity to meet the ever increase demand of water in an efficient manner.
To that end, the minister said Government is also aware that the water pumping machines are old and needed to be maintained
“Government will ensure that there is an efficient and enhanced transparency and accountability in all its parastatal organizations,” he said, adding president Bingu wa Mutharika stated in his inaugural speech that parastatal organizations should be operating with the framework, at least without losses.
He said government realizes that water is life and therefore an essential commodity and efforts to fight the water problem in the two major cities would be arrested as contained in the national budget.
On Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for parliamentarians to embark on various development projects at constituency level in the country, Kandodo government has reduced the fund from K3 million to K2 million with immediate effect.
“The 2008-2009 financial year has shown that there were some shortcomings that need to be addressed, hence the reduction in the fund,” he said.
The minister also said government has allocated K1.3 billion to Local Assemblies to compensate for the reduction in the fund.
“It is my hope that Parliamentarians will be eager to see how the Assemblies will be using the resource,” he said.
Kandodo also told the anxious August House that the 2008-2009 agricultural input subsidy program allocated K19.4 m million but it was raised to K29.4 billion to meet the ever increased prices of the commodity.
“I want to inform the House that the 2009-2010 agricultural input subsidy program financial allocation will no longer to be applicable to cash crops but for food crops to avert hunger at household level in the country,” he said.
The minster also disclosed that civil servants salaries will be increased by 15 percent with effect from July 1, this year as a way of motivating civil servants in the country.
“Government wants to lessen salary disparity gaps exist in the civil service to motivate the workers,” he said.
Kandodo also said the national budget has accommodated the improvement of the education sector with K31.4 billion both for higher and tertiary education,K3 billion for youth development for the youth to engage in entrepreneurial skills and other business ventures to improve their status, to meet the unemployment market.
Tagged with: Bingu, budget, Kandodo, parliament
Why leaving out Mzuzu Water Board??
Are people in Mzuzu immune to water borne diseases???
lol…. very sceptical. its just that Blantyre and Lilongwe ones are less efficient than the Mzuzu water board.