Lunte Member of Parliament Hon. Mutotwe Kafwaya wrote:::::
2024 SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET, EMBARRASSING, CONCEPTUALLY WRONG AND WITHOUT IMPACT.
Since my unfair suspension from the National Assembly of Zambia, for seven sitting days for raising a point of order, I have spent some time studying the 2024 Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure No. 1 of 2024.
I have found that this is one of the most embarrassing and conceptually wrong documents that the UPND government has produced and caused it’s approval by the National Assembly since they formed government in 2021.
Why do I think it’s embarrassing?
The UPND government sought an additional expenditure amounting to ZMW41,916,400,133.00 for the financial year ending 2024. Since Expenditure is equal to Income or vice versa, this implies that government had to source the same amount in additional revenue to achieve this level of expenditure.
But a closer look at the summary of revenues shows that government would only generate additional revenue of ZMW3,770,296,000.00 to support the above stated expenditure requirements. Additional revenue to be generated by government in the Supplementary Estimates stood at only 9% of the required expenditure. This means that 91% of that requirement was going to arise from sources other than additional revenue, such as borrowing and funds from donors. This is extremely embarrassing to the people of Zambia.
Government cannot show such levels of national inability as to depend on borrowing and donor support for 91% of its expenditure requirements. This is below par. This is should embarrass every Zambian.
The Supplementary Estimates which was presented to the National Assembly was conceptually wrong. I do not understand why the UPND government would present such a wrong document to the peoples house for approval. Under the summary of income, government present an amount of ZMW17,222,532,379.00 as Savings Declared Across Heads.
I see a lot of conceptual issues in this declaration. Here are the two or three of them;
(a) If this amount is arising from declared savings from the original budget, why has government included it for appropriation in the Supplementary Estimates when the amount was already appropriated in the original Estimates. Which law allows UPND to appropriate the same amount twice in one year? And such a significant amount for goodness sake.
(b) If the UPND really wanted this amount to appear in the Supplementary Estimates, why didn’t they remove it from the original Appropriation Act by amending it to ensure completeness of transactions. What UPND has done in this regard, reminds me of what we used to call single entry transactions – it’s incomplete!
(c) In the face of transparency and accountability, tell me how the UPND can make declared saving of ZMW17.2BN without producing a schedule showing exactly which heads have been affected in coming up with those savings? This might be a scheme for something more than savings declarations. And time is certainly going to tell.
My conclusion on this matter is that this Supplementary Estimate No. 1 of 2024 is grossly overstated by the illegally double counted declared saving. I wonder whether this was deliberate or not. In an institution where there are accountants and economists, such a misstatement is unacceptable.
Zambia is at its worst ever in terms of accountability and transparency – but if we listen to each other, we can reclaim it to what accountable and transparent it used to be.
Restoring EVERYTHING PATRIOTIC.
MK10.08.2024
