Business / Economy
Defence has legacy debt of $4.1 billion
2 hrs ago |
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HARARE - The Ministry of Defence is struggling with a legacy debt of $4.1 billion, prompting calls in parliament for government to urgently clear the arrears.
Legislator Knowledge Kaitano raised the issue while debating the defence budget allocation.
"From the ZWG19,766,214,000 that has been allocated to them, if they were to pay off their service providers, they would pay ZWG4.1 billion. That means they will be left with about $15 billion," Kaitano said.
He warned that the debt, dating back to 2023, posed a risk to national security if creditors decided to stop providing services to the Defence Ministry.
Kaitano urged Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to prioritise clearing the arrears. He also highlighted a shortfall in medical services funding.
"Also the Ministry of Defence requested about $1.4 billion to go towards the medical services. Only $28 million has been provided, giving a shortfall of about $1.372 billion on medical services for the Army," he said.
He stressed the importance of adequately funding the health of soldiers, noting that the ideal budget was $1.3 billion.
Kaitano further pointed to the PSIP project at Manyame Hospital, where construction of the main building is 85 percent complete.
"I am proposing that the Minister of Finance look at this particular project so that it can be completed in 2026. The main building, furnishings and the equipment, because it also has a VVIP section that will help us reduce our medical bill when we travel outside the country seeking medical care," he said.
He added that completion of the hospital would strengthen the army's medical capacity.
Kaitano also raised concerns over inadequate training allocations. "Training has been allocated $46.8 million from an ideal budget of $855 million. We need to train our military personnel so that we have peace," he said.
Legislator Knowledge Kaitano raised the issue while debating the defence budget allocation.
"From the ZWG19,766,214,000 that has been allocated to them, if they were to pay off their service providers, they would pay ZWG4.1 billion. That means they will be left with about $15 billion," Kaitano said.
He warned that the debt, dating back to 2023, posed a risk to national security if creditors decided to stop providing services to the Defence Ministry.
Kaitano urged Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to prioritise clearing the arrears. He also highlighted a shortfall in medical services funding.
He stressed the importance of adequately funding the health of soldiers, noting that the ideal budget was $1.3 billion.
Kaitano further pointed to the PSIP project at Manyame Hospital, where construction of the main building is 85 percent complete.
"I am proposing that the Minister of Finance look at this particular project so that it can be completed in 2026. The main building, furnishings and the equipment, because it also has a VVIP section that will help us reduce our medical bill when we travel outside the country seeking medical care," he said.
He added that completion of the hospital would strengthen the army's medical capacity.
Kaitano also raised concerns over inadequate training allocations. "Training has been allocated $46.8 million from an ideal budget of $855 million. We need to train our military personnel so that we have peace," he said.
Source - Byo24News
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