Govt’s overspending riles Parly

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

Government is battling to keep spending within allocated budget levels amid revelations that multiple ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) exceeded their 2024 budgets in the first six months of this year, leading to calls for a supplementary budget, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion has revealed.

The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development and Investment Promotion, headed by Professor Mthuli Ncube, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, and the Ministry of Local Government, among many other ministries, are some of the overspenders, according to a report by the committee’s chairman, Clemence Chiduwa.

A weak local currency, analysts said, makes it difficult for the government to  stick to its spending plans.

“….the Committee found out that there were certain ministries that had already exhausted their budgets by mid-year,” Chiduwa said.

He added: “The top five include  the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development and the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. This suggests that additional resources may be required to sustain operations of the above-stated Ministries to year end.

“This will require a supplementary budget unless the unallocated reserve (10% of the approved Budget) will be sufficient to meet the envisaged operational requirements to year end. Reallocations will affect the programmes of other MDAs.”

According to Chiduwa, the ministries, departments and agencies have overrun their budgets without notifying the Parliament.

The Committee was also concerned that some of the devolution money would be transferred to MDAs that had exhausted their budgets due to the sluggish disbursement of these funds.