Mthuli Ncube must explain why some ministries exceeded their approved budgets

Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube has been urged to explain why some government ministries exceeded their approved budgets before mid-year. In a motion on the Finance Bill, Budget and Finance Committee chairperson Clemence Chiduwa raised concerns about unauthorised spending and called for a detailed explanation from Ncube.

Chiduwa stressed the importance of a debt sustainability analysis and a Medium-Term Debt Strategy by November to manage financial stability, noting that some ministries had overspent by June, while others had used less than 30% of their allocated funds. He warned of the risks posed by these spending imbalances without a supplementary budget.

He also recommended removing duties on transit fuel and implementing measures to tackle transit fraud, citing challenges faced by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority in collecting taxes from the informal sector.

Mbizo legislator Cobalt Madzivanyika (CCC) highlighted the overspending in five ministries, with the Transport ministry exceeding its budget by 245% and the Council of Chiefs by 119%. He questioned whether the unallocated reserve of ZWG16 trillion could cover these variances.

In contrast, Energy Mutodi (Zanu-PF) praised the government's financial management, noting that ministries had refilled half of their budgets and spent 44% of their allocations, in line with Sadc economic indicators.