Maravi

The devil in the detail

The devil in the detail
Written by Editor

This year, the Yellow Book has 1,645 pages.Last Friday when finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane presented his first budget to Parliament, he said:

“This budget will focus on improving infrastructure and creating a more conducive environment for investors, while reducing wasteful expenditures that do not carry an appreciable social or economic return”.

This was a bold statement but the Yellow Book expenditures show otherwise. A common thread throughout is the wastage and serious inconsistencies, despite the rhetoric and the local and global financial crisis. The type of proposed expenditures throughout do not inspire confidence, nor are they consistent with prudent use of public money.

It may be that in every ministry, most of such allocations are in millions or tens of millions of kwacha. But when added up, they translate into billions of kwacha. Under Poverty Reduction Programmes (PRP), there is money allocated for workshops, conferences, audits, management of petroleum supplies, drafting of legislation, paying outstanding utility bills, construction of offices, travel and production of documents, among many other inexplicable descriptions.

How such expenditures can be called Poverty Reduction Programmes is beyond anyone’s imagination. And how such expenditures are going to produce growth and reduce poverty is also incomprehensible. Musokotwane said in his budget speech:

“The government would have wished to provide greater relief to workers this year, but is constrained by the prevailing economic environment.”

This statement by Musokotwane is tongue in cheek, and coming from a man who allegedly earned about US $8,000 per month supposedly paid for by the Bank of Zambia since he became a civil servant many years ago, is a bold and brazen statement. What he said about his constraints and inability to provide tax relief for workers is simply not true.

One of the reasons why the government is constrained is that they have been unable to cut their own wasteful expenditure and therefore unable to provide relief to the citizens of Zambia. One minister laughably called the budget as “people-driven” budget. Yes, that is true for people in government, not the people of Zambia.

The budget speech rhetoric does not match the deeds in the Yellow Book. In a year of financial crisis, falling commodity prices and less revenue, the Ministry of Works and Supply used K9.537 billion in 2008 for very, very important people (VVIP) and very important people (VIP)’s residential furniture, curtains, carpets, linen and banqueting suite.

The job is not finished yet so another K500 million has been allocated for 2009 and another K3.286 billion has been allocated for maintenance of VIP houses and other leaders’ houses in 2009. Do these expenditures carry any appreciable social and economic return?

Under an obscure budget line called “other financial restructuring”, the government spent K145.15 billion in 2008 and this year K30.72 billion has been allocated. No explanation whatsoever is given as to what this allocation is about or for what it was spent.

It has also not been possible to figure out how much government money was used for the last elections on travel and other expenditure by the then Vice-President Rupiah Banda for his campaign.

Transparency and good governance demand that such expenses be clearly identified.

We know, from the Yellow Book, that the Electoral Commission of Zambia spent just over K222 billion for last year’s by-elections. We also know that K1.02 billion was used for support services to Zambia’s third president’s family. But we don’t know what Rupiah Banda’s campaign costs were. Why? Let’s not forget that this is public money, not private.

The election campaign costs to the Zambian taxpayer have been well hidden and probably distributed across many government institutions.

The following expenditures could be some of the areas where they may have been hidden, and are examples of glaring inconsistencies, most of them wasteful and questionable expenditures.

Under the Office of the Vice-President in 2008, K6.26 billion was allocated for “Operations of the Vice-President’s Bureau, but in 2009 it’s been allocated K1.944 billion. It seems whatever the “operations” were in 2008 have been now drastically scaled down.

At the Zambia National Service, K4.74 billion was spent in 2008 for office administration and in 2009 they will spend K459 million. At Zambia Air Force (ZAF), K4 billion was used for office administration and in 2009 they have been given K2.278 billion. And while ZAF spent K2.367 billion on utilities in 2008, in 2009 they have been allocated zero. A further K9.55 billion was used for air display and exercises in 2008 but this year they will spend K1.44 billion.

The Zambia Intelligence Service spent K35.86 billion on office administration in 2008, and a further K35.5 billion was spent on operations, as they will spend K36 billion in 2009, out of a total budget of K213 billion. Cabinet Office spent K42 billion on Public Affairs and Summit meetings in 2008 and have budgeted K31 billion for 2009. They also spent K29 billion on HIV/AIDS mitigation in 2008, but in 2009 will spend only K130 million.

At Zambia Police there must have been a terrorism/crime threat in 2008 as they spent K1.64 billion. However, in 2009 they have allocated K85.65 million, as the threat seems to have rescinded.

At the Inspection Unit, Zambia Police spent K7.64 billion in 2008 on electricity, but this year will spend K1.2 billion, perhaps they have gone for solar power.

The quartermasters unit spent K45.518 billion on procurement of commodities in 2008, but this year will spend only K5.63 billion. Perhaps they are going on a diet this year.

At the Ministry of Local Government and Housing in 2008 they spent K37.5 million on International Toilets Day, while in 2009 they will spend K119 million.

One of the highest ministerial office administration costs at K3.24 billion is at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, but less than what was spent in 2008 at K3.959 billion. This expenditure is even higher than State House and the Vice-President’s office administration expenditure.

At the Ministry of Finance, K45 billion was spent on Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) in 2008 and a further K30 billion will be spent in 2009. This is in addition to similar amounts spent on NCZ over the past many years without sight of any final resolution. Why can’t a final decision be made on NCZ? This is what is called wastage.

In 2008 at the Ministry of Works and Supply, the approved allocation by Parliament was K2 billion, but instead K8.93 billion was used to procure VIP vehicles (meaning ministerial) and this year they will spend another K500 million. Why is it that almost every year VIP vehicles are procured?

The Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry has allocated K338 million in order to attend the Xiamen, China Trade Fair. Why can’t the private sector attend the fair at their own costs? If the minister and his officials want to travel, why should it cost K338 million? This again is wastage!

A further K188 million has been allocated for the Africa-China FOCAC Action Plan. Another K1.622 billion has been allocated for investment mission overseas travels.

Such unproductive expenditure permeates throughout the Yellow Book. Such is the scale of wasteful spending at almost all ministries. No wonder the government is constrained by the prevailing economic environment and therefore unable to provide relief to workers.

Such examples of expenditure are the height of gross irresponsibility. The devil indeed has been found in the detail.

Labels: 2009 BUDGET, CORRUPTION, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 3:32 AM