Biti says Zimbabwe’s 2019 budget is meaningless

On the macro-economic framework Hon. Speaker, the figure of inflation that is used by the Hon. Minister for 2018 is 8, 6%. The figure for inflation that is used for 2019 is 22%. Just today the official inflation figure announced by ZIMSTAT yesterday is 31% but you know Hon. Speaker that inflation is already over 200%. A bag of cement used to cost $10 in August of 2018 but is now costing $34, an increase of 240% and that is non-food inflation. So, the figure of inflation used in the macro-economic framework is facial and a fiction because our inflation is already hovering on hyper-inflation where month on month inflation is over 80%.

The growth rate of 3,1% is over ambitious given the fact that we are likely to be in an El Nino season and the budget expects growth from agriculture to be over 105. Mining, we have been over reliant on gold but the figures are now becoming clearer that we are not going to meet the 30 tonnes target.

I want to move to another area which concerns me, which is the issue of domestic debt. There is no plan in the budget of how the Government is going to deal with the crippling domestic debt of $10 billion. Whilst I am on domestic debt Hon. Speaker, the Government has produced two Blue Books which are all wrong. Hon. Speaker, if you go to paragraph 66 of the Budget, the figure of public debt is put at $17, 69 billion and of that, $10 billion is domestic debt. If you go to the Blue Book, page 393, the figure for the domestic debt Hon. Speaker is put at $4 872 871 billion, that is the Blue Book. So, you have got the Blue Book saying domestic debt is $4 billion but the Budget Statement is saying $10 billion.

So, we need these documents to be accurate but a more fundamental point is that there must be a plan on how the $10 billion domestic debt is going to be dealt with. The suggestion by the Hon. Speaker – I heard him speak in other circles that we are simply going to roll over those debts and TBs, which is not good enough. There must be a plan on how you deal with and retire the $10 billion domestic debt. Equally, there must be a concrete plan on how you deal with the external sovereign debt. The budget is weak on a formula on how you propose to deal with debt. He must either say I am going HIPC or HIPC light or another model of resolving the sovereign debt crisis. To simply plunder in the dark like a crocodile is simply not good enough.

The fourth aspect I want to speak about Hon. Speaker is the budget tax regime. It is wrong Hon. Speaker to raise taxes when a country is in a recession and when people do not have disposable income. The 2% transaction tax is wrong and must be scraped. Asking members of the public to pay duty in US$ when we are all earning local currency in the form of bonds and RTGs is wrong. I do not know whether you are aware Hon. Minister that they are now calling you Walker Texas Ranger – [Laughter.] – because people do not appreciate and understand your tax regime. Mr. Speaker, we have lived through a crisis of hyperinflation…

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Order, Hon. Member, your five minutes is over.

HON. BITI: Can I just conclude one point.  We have lived through a regime of hyperinflation in 2007/2008…

HON. TONDERAI MOYO: On a point of order.  May I remind the Hon. Member to address the Speaker and not to address the Minister of Finance?

HON. BITI: Mr. Speaker Sir, we have lived, as Zimbabweans, through a period of hyperinflation, 2007/2008, therefore the proposed duty which is being implemented already, excise duty on fuel is wrong because it is inflationary.  I urge the Hon. Minister to reverse that decision; you do not tax a commodity like fuel – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –  Thank you very much Mr. Speaker.

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