Malawi mid-term budget lacking detail –PP
The Mid-term Budget Review Statement, presented by Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe has been faulted by opposition People’s Party (PP) as lacking detail and “consumptive.”
In his statement, Gondwe said government has under-spent by 1.5 percent of the total expenditure of the targeted K365.7 billion by mid-year.
Gondwe also proposed a supplementary expenditure amounting to K32 billion( $64-million).
But PP’s spokesperson on financial matters Ralph Jooma said in parliament:“It is difficult to appreciate how we can approve figures that have been hidden from us.”
Jooma querried government for allocating Farm Input Subsidy Programme ( Fisp) vote an extra K10 billion to K60 billion while there’s no increase in other equally important items such as iron sheets and cement.
“ In September, government told us that the Fisp vote will be reduced because some items will be locally purchased,” he said.
Jooma also asked Finance Minister to explain “why and how the Malawi Police Service and the Accountant General’s office overspent by 156 percent and 60 percent respectively, in the past six months?”
He also asked Gondwe to provide a thorough breakdown of what is being borrowed and collected.
“Otherwise, we are being overambitious and we seem to base our optimism on the kwacha appreciation. We can’t continue having a national budget that is consumptive, government should not rejoice for under-spending because under-spending was only on development budget which is cause for worry than self-praise. We need to start creating wealth than spending money,” Jooma said.
The Finance Minister told the House that the implementation of the 2014/15 zero-aid budget had faced setbacks due to the under-collection of domestic resources and a lack of grants from donors.
Donors pulled aid out of Malawi following revelations that public resources had been pilfered in a corruption scandal known locally as “Cashgate.” Auditors claim the government lost close to $100 million as a result of the fraud.
Malawi was left with no choice but to craft a zero-aid budget for 2014/15.
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Mid-term for this Parliament already? Uuuh how time flies
Do government departments have accountants? Do they produce monthly financial reports to monitor their spending? If yes, what should they do, ask for more or reduce the spending.
Am convinced, government does have the right people to handle finances or people are still stealing our taxes.
Our politicians, always talk about fiscal discipline and yet behind us they are encouraging over expenditures.
I may say the least, we have a problem.
Checks and balances at play here. You go Jooma. Sheer brilliance at it’s best!
I like and hate Good all Gondwe.
1) Goodall is a thief: K13b + K8b + K10b = K31b not K32b. He wants to steal K1b, so Dont approve it. 2) The 2014/2015 budget has not been depleted and the time has not expired yet, so why asking for supplementary resources. Dont approve it because they want to use the money for Community Colleges which they have done nothing 3) Malawi had receive K1billion grant on FUEL, please ask the RESERVE BANK. This is why fuel has gone down at the pump not because Kwacha has appreciated. Goodall please learn to tell the truth. 4) All OPPOSITION… Read more »
Not for small brains like Jooma who can even stand in the way of development like five star hotel because he is drunk with envy
Kodi zimbudzi zija adamanga zingati?