What Parliament said about Ncube’s 2019 budget

3.9           Government must finalise the incentive framework and other supportive job creation measures during the first quarter of 2019. In this regard, extensive and inclusive consultations should be undertaken. Reference can be made to the World Bank report (2015) which estimated local content policies which were backed with tax incentives in the food and beverages sector to have been responsible for attracting $5 billion into the local economy and created 38,000 jobs in Nigeria.

3.10  Government must engage competent financial advisors in order to get the best value from the proposed Public Enterprises Reform Programme. Parliament must be engaged in all these processes.

3.11     Government must take an incremental budget approach to capital projects in the education system, and more resources must be allocated every year. Generally, there is need for timely disbursements of capital projects funds.

3.12     Government should strengthen its loan recovery mechanisms for Government facilities including the Command Agriculture programme instead of burdening taxpayers and increasing national debt.  In the same vein, there is need to free such programmes of corruption through enhancing the roles of institutions and improvement on transparency and accountability.

3.13     There is need for extensive consultation before announcements of key policy proposals for stakeholder buy in. It was noted that the introduction of the IMTT without proper consultation and effective communication on how the tax proceeds are to be used led to an unanticipated response which saw an upswing in prices.

3.14     Retrenched Youth Officers should be given their perks on time to facilitate meaningful investments from the proceeds. There is also need for training of the officers so that they can be absorbed into other Government departments.

3.15     Dealing with Corruption and Indiscipline:-Dealing with corruption and indiscipline is an important step in cleaning up the image of the country and reducing the cost of business. If leakages haemorrhaging the national purse are not sealed, proposals for growing the national cake will not succeed.  The adoption of smart technology is one step in the right direction. On the other hand, implementation of the Auditor General’s reports will go a long way in plugging resources leakages and improving efficiency in service delivery. In the same vein, the Committee comments the more than a doubled non-wage allocation to ZACC to US$5m and calls upon ZACC to use these resources responsibly and to discharge its duties as expected, without fear or favour.

4. CONCLUSION

4.1           The Committee commends the Minister for crafting a progressive budget which seeks to address the twin deficits that have for long militated against growth of the economy. Zimbabwe has never been short of good economic policies but the only set back has been the lack of implementation and policy inconsistencies. Implementation and unity of purpose are key to achieving the budget objectives.

4.2           The Committee therefore recommends the House to approve this budget, subject to incorporation of these and other recommendations from Parliament.

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