IT CANNOT BE BUSINESS AS USUAL – MUSOKOTWANE
The Government of The Republic of Zambia (GRZ) remains committed to the implementation of sound economic policies that balance growth with fiscal responsibility. We are cognisant of the tight fiscal space at a time when the development needs of our people remain constant & in some cases are scaling-up, hence our steadfast resolve to ensure that resources from the treasury & development partners are utilised in the most prudent manner.
“It cannot be business as usual, this is why we have instituted measures to ensure that laws & all attendant regulations that govern financial management & public procurement are applied, failure to which there will be swift consequences for perpetrators of financial & supply mismanagement,” Finance & National Planning Minister Dr SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE, MP, has warned.
“Looking at this report (April, 2025 budget releases), I am happy that since 2021 & despite adding more than 85,000 new employees across public entities, we seem to have maintained our promise that salaries for public officials will never delay beyond the month-end as was customary in the past,” observed Dr MUSOKOTWANE, adding that, “it also seems that this is the first time in decades that all Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) arrears have completely been liquidated as early as April. We will continue on this path.”
The Minister was commenting as he reflected on the April, 2025, budget releases. Further, he indicated that the GRZ will continue to eliminate the ‘deep-vein’ inefficiencies in some public sector entities so that development efforts eventually get more concentrated on investment in the economy, job-creation for youths, growth, growth & more growth which will result in wealth creation for the country & elevating fellow citizens from poverty.
UPDATE ON APRIL 2025 BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION
In April 2025, the Ministry of Finance & National Planning released K23.5 billion to finance public service delivery. Of this amount, K8.5 billion went to transfers, subsidies & social benefits, K3.5 billion to the implementation of various developmental programmes & general operations, K1.2 billion was spent on capital expenditure, K4.6 billion for the public service wage bill, & K5.7 billion was spent on debt service (domestic & external) & arrears.
DEBT & OTHER LIABILITIES
In line with the GRZ’s commitment to reducing its indebtedness, a total sum of K5.7 billion was paid, of which, K4.2 billion was for servicing domestic debt, K1 billion for external debt, & K443.1 million went towards dismantling arrears owed to various suppliers of goods & services.
A few days ago, Zambia & India Exim Bank signed a bilateral agreement to restructure US$ 335 million debt. The step demonstrated our success in engaging creditors in a transparent & collaborative manner & signaled a strong vote of confidence in Zambia’s economic reforms. The terms agreed upon are designed to support our country’s recovery, reduce debt servicing pressures, & allow us to refocus resources towards priority sectors such as healthcare, education, infrastructure development, & economic growth enhancing interventions.
The reduced monthly debt repayment obligations also clearly reflect the benefit of mitigated debt servicing pressures as a result of the restructuring process. We reiterate the GRZ’s unwavering commitment to honoring debt obligations & maintaining a transparent & constructive relationship with creditors. We will continue to work together to advance sustainable development.
TRANSFERS & SUBSIDIES
The Treasury also disbursed a total of K8.5 billion towards transfers & subsidies in April 2025. Notable items under this category included:
1) K3.1 billion for FISP, being the final balance to completely liquidate arrears relating to the 2024/2025 farming season under both the e-voucher & the direct input supply modes. As a result, no supplier of farming inputs should remain owed by the GRZ for the 2024/2025 farming season;
2) K270 million was disbursed under the Ministry of Community Development & Social Services to liquidate arrears relating to the Food Security Pack. The programme aims to empower the vulnerable but viable small-scale farmers with seed & fertilizer supplies;
3) K2 billion went to the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries under this programme, including those under the drought-response Emergency Cash Transfer, are paid in full for March & April 2025;
4) K333.3 million was disbursed for the Cash for Work programme in an effort to augment the empowerment of households in various communities affected by the 2023/2024 drought;
5) Further, K1 billion was released under the Constituency Development Fund category to facilitate the continued implementation of community projects, skills development bursaries, as well as grants & loans for eligible beneficiaries;
6) K783.5 million was disbursed as school grants to support the seamless implementation of the free education policy. This early disbursement is in line with the GRZ’s commitment to ensure adequate preparation for learners as schools reopen this month for Term II; &,
7) K933.7 million was also released to support the operations of various Grant Aided Institutions in the public Service, including Local Authorities through the Local GRZ Equalisation Fund. A further K100 million went towards the payment of pension benefits under Local Authorities Superannuation Fund (LASF) in an effort to reduce vulnerability among retirees.
GENERAL OPERATIONS
The Treasury released K3.5 billion to facilitate general operations of the Central GRZ. Notable items under this category included:
1) K944.9 million for the procurement of Drugs & Medical Supplies to enable adequate stocking of medicines in various public health facilities across the country;
2) K120.4 million for the on-going geological mapping exercise which is being undertaken by the Ministry of Mines to ensure a comprehensive mapping & geo-location of the country’s mineral & water resources; &,
3) K100 million, being part payment towards the mobile registration exercise for National Registration Cards (NRCs) – a prerequisite for the forthcoming voter registration exercise related to next year’s general elections.
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
The Ministry of Finance & National Planning released a sum of K1.2 billion towards on-going capital expenditure projects, of which, K543.5 million was for road infrastructure, K265.4 million for public university & school infrastructure, & K402.1 million was for other infrastructure projects being implemented in various GRZ institutions.
THE WAGE BILL
The Treasury released K4.6 billion for the Public Service Wage Bill for April, 2025, to meet costs relating to remuneration of various public service workers. As indicated by the Minister, the GRZ is pleased that the measures put in place since 2021, have resulted in salaries for public officials not being delayed beyond the month-end, as was the case in the past.
Issued by:
(Original Signed)
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY
@topfans Zambia News and Information Services Zambia Daily Mail Times of Zambia – TOZ State House – Zambia Ministry of Information and Media – Zambia @
Honorable, Systems are ultimately applied by manpower, if the manpower employed to utilize those systems are not the right ones, then those systems will be misapplied, so when putting systems in place, also ensure that you have the right caliber of people to implement those system. One example is CDF, a brilliant idea, but during the recent audits, a lot of flows have been unearthed showing that most of those charged with implementation are not correctly qualified to implement the CDF, what should be done is to engage qualified staff outside the system to operate as implementers of the CDC, every constituency has very qualified staff who are not in government circles who if approached can volunteer to correct the situation, let us not just look at council staff but let us roll it out to professional in the public sector in all constituencies to help out with the roll out of CDF and other government programmes, after all government is the people.
Public and private sector
Ministry of Finance, great job. Keep it up. This gives broad insight how public funds are being spent.
To those not being paid. A basis to raise alarm of it.
A logical explaination is then required for the unpaid creditors. Possibly a national publication of this. This should extent to the tendering process.