Finance Minister Mlusu to present Malawi provisional budget Tuesday
Newly appointed Minister of Finance, Felix Mlusu, will present the provisional budget in Parliament this Tuesday, newly appointed Leader of the House, Richard Chimwendo Banda confirmed.
Mlusu will present to the House a provisional budget to cater for government business in the interim as the new administration of President Lazarus Chakwera works on a full fiscal plan.
Chimwendo said said the provisional budget, as provided for in the Constitution, has a maximum timeframe of four months, giving room for government to prepare a full budget.
He said before October this year, the nation should have the full fiscal plan in place to ensure all aspects of development are implemented as per government design.
Chimwendo Banda said since fiscal year ends on June 30, Government will seek the House’s approval of expenditure in the absence of an annual budget beginning Wednesday July 1.
“We need Parliament to authorize spending beginning 1 July as government cannot spend without the approval of the House. As such, the Minister of Finance will present a provisional statement requesting the House to approve spending in the interim as they continue to work on the full annual budget,” Chimwendo Banda said.
Mlusu, who was appointed on Monday and took oath of office and allegiance, hinted that the interim budget will run for three months.
He said the provisional budget provides basic information that includes statutory expenses such as salaries, pensions and gratuities.
“Of course the new administration would want to emphasize on its priority areas, that is why we are coming up with a provisional budget to give us time to review and prepare the annual budget. For now, we will come up with a budget to cover us for the next three months,” Mlusu said.
Three weeks ago, former Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Joseph Mwanamvekha in the DPP administration presented to the House the 2020/2021 annual budget which was pegged as K2.2 trillion. The budget was undergoing a cluster level review at the time the House last adjourned.
However, with the change in administration following the election Chakwera of the former opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), it is expected that the new Finance Minister will present a new budget at the end of the provisional budget.
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Free advice, laser-focus on growing the economy and not on political appeasement through hand-outs prgrammes!! Universal fertilizer subsidy is an expensive hand-out programme which must be carefully thought-out because it is prone to massive abuse by unscrupulous international traders if proper checks are not put in place. The state of our economy is such that it can only support serious infrastructural programmes with lasting social and economic values and multiple spin-offs likely to create employment opportunities to the citizenry but can not support a lot of the hand-outs programmes governments usually have in mind!!!!!
Economic growth in this country can not be focus without the inclusion of agriculture. Yes focus on continue economic growth but that can be done with agricultural subsidies. With FISP it was able to do just that, that’s why it’s a mistake to terminate it and introduce something not thought-out altogether. What was needed was reforming FISP inline with evidence learned during its lifespan.
Our Njamba self- appointed minister of finance will present the full budget and let Mlusu present this three four months. Oganiza boo heavy adzapanga yeniyeniyo!!! Nyere too much ndi udindo a ntchentche!!!!!!
We removed APM because of old age and Chakwera brings in old people like Msisya and Mlusu. These grandfathers should be enjoying their retirement. Chilima expressed intererest to be finance minister and if there is that change that means Chilima was cheating us.
I don’t see the budget stretching beyond K2.2tn. To do so based on donors’ promises to fill the shortfall is risky. It might lead to too much borrowing and in the event of failure to the donor funds inflow, the country will experience the worst economic woes than the case it was in preceding years.