Chinamasa mulls supplementary budget

THE government might consider crafting a supplementary budget to cushion the country from food shortages induced by drought.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa hinted the possibility of a supplementary budget on Wednesday while responding to questions on food security in Parliament.

In the wake of unforeseen natural shocks such as drought, the minister said, the government would consider a supplementary budget to cushion its citizens from hunger.

"The thrust of all our efforts should be to stabilise and grow the economy, and in so doing, improve the ability of the economy through the national budget, to respond to the ever-persistent droughts," said Minister Chinamasa.

"Our Constitution as well as the Public Finance Management Act, allows the minister responsible for finance to table a supplementary budget for the purpose of funding unforeseen and/ or inescapable unbudgeted expenditure demands that may arise such as the current El Nino induced drought, the expenditure that we're now incurring in order to import grain."

He said that was not factored in the 2016 budget.

President Mugabe, in February, declared the drought a national disaster as he appealed for $1,5 billion to feed an estimated three million vulnerable Zimbabweans, mainly in the south-western parts of the country up to the next farming season. The country has since facilitated an importation of up to 700,000 metric tonnes of grain and is rolling out feeding schemes targeting school going children and food for work programmes for food insecure communities.

Estimates indicate that up to 28 million people could be in need of food aid in the entire Sadc region, which has also not been spared from drought.

Earlier on Parliamentarians had asked Minister Chinamasa to consider re-positioning the budget from January to December to July-June financial year in view of the persistent El Nino induced droughts.

Zimbabwe uses the fiscal and financial year, which is in tandem with the calendar year with effect from 1998.

"The change-over of the fiscal year was and continues to be premised on the need to make projections on social and economic statistics more meaningful since most of the data are published on a calendar year basis," responded Minister Chinamasa.

"This also supports the analysis of social and economic indicators and other variables."

He explained that the ability to adequately support agriculture and mitigating against natural shocks such as the El Nino induced drought was largely dependent on the strength of the economy.

Members stressed the need to channel more funding to irrigation farming with the idea of using wheat meal as well.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the country's economy and over the years the government has poured millions of dollars to assist farmers.

The bulk of the support has come through the input supply scheme to small scale farmers, who in the main are the producers of the maize.

Minister Chinamasa acknowledged that minimal irrigation development, especially for wheat growing, has become a major stumbling block in food security efforts.

"We've never supported the growing of wheat, not directly by the government. We've on our part, encouraged the banking sector to give that support and I'm aware that support is being given.

"What I can only guarantee is that if those farmers can gain credit from commercial banks, if they grow wheat and I'm encouraging them to grow wheat especially those who've water. We can guarantee timeous payment of any wheat output from the winter wheat programme just like we're guaranteeing timeous payment for any maize that's delivered to GMB."