Maravi

(HERALD) Budget: Land reform short-changed

Budget: Land reform short-changed
By Farirai Machivenyika

TWO major events occurred in Parliament this week. The statement by Prime Minister Tsvangirai and the 2010 Budget presentation by Finance Minister Tendai Biti were easily the highlights of proceedings.

However, the 2010 budget was the major highlight given the weight of expectations from the spectrum of society on the direction Zimbabwe is taking given the measure of stability enjoyed this year with the adoption of a multi-currency system.

It was not going to be easy for Minister Biti to fully address everyone’s concerns but he, however, managed to fairly answer to the divergent expectations from the citizenry.

However, in my analysis there are areas that I believe required extra attention given their importance to the welfare of the people.

Health and education will obviously come to mind; remuneration of public servants, given their importance to the fulfillment of Government programmes and incentives for investors and the manufacturing sector.

However, it is agriculture and the land reform programme in particular that had to be prioritised as a measure of boosting economic revival and economic activity in other productive sectors of the economy.

The centrality of agriculture to our economy is not in dispute and the need to adequately support resettled farmers is of paramount importance. I, therefore, personally expected this vital sector to be given the due attention it deserves.

In his statement Minister Biti promised that Government would strive to support farmers but was glaringly short in enunciating policies targeting especially the resettled farmers.

Given that the land reform programme is irreversible, technical and financial support for the farmers should be the area of focus at the moment.

The land reform programme is a national programme that I personally believe should continue to be on our tables for sometime until the new farmers can manage to stand on their own.

It is a myth and should be treated with utter contempt that the support afforded to farmers in the past 10 is enough because farming is a long-term investment.

The old white commercial farmers received massive support from successive settler governments and even in the developed world farmers continue to receive huge subsidies.

We might not have resources to offer support of a similar magnitude but we can come up with other incentives that encourage productivity.

The generality of the population especially ordinary workers were concerned about the bread and butter issues and the minister responded by exempting taxes on bonuses for up to $400 raising the tax-free salary threshold from $150 to a modest $160.

Other measures that have a direct bearing on the day -to-day lives include the extension of the duty free facility on basic foodstuffs and other commodities to July 2010 and allocation of US$285 million and US$109 million to the health sector and water and sanitation programmes respectively.

Given the major challenges that have been faced in the above mentioned areas, it was imperative that they be allocated significant amounts to cushion the population against the effects of such outbreaks of diseases like cholera and to fund the acquisition of drugs and medical equipment.

Education has also been in the doldrums in the past 10 years like any other sector, given the debilitating effects of the illegal economic sanctions, and deserved special recognition.

Zimbabwe has always been renowned for its quality education and we expect it to remain there and regain lost glory.

The minister allocated US$13, 1 million for the procurement of learning material and donors would augment this amount.

Minister Biti promised that Government would reform the operations of Zimsec, a body that has threatened the credibility of public examinations in the country.

This was long overdue given the bungling we have witnessed from the body over the years.

Minister Biti also set aside funds to ensure proper supervision of teachers and lecturers in schools and colleges.

On social protection programmes he also said Government and cooperating partners would provide support for nearly 800 000 vulnerable children in both primary and secondary education under the Basic Education Assistance Module.

The figure might be lower than those in need of such support but it is a giant step in ensuring that the most vulnerable and unfortunate groups get the necessary support.

As usual we, however, expect that only the deserving children get support otherwise this noble programme would not achieve its objectives.

Turning to other sectors, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries past president Mr Anthony Mandiwanza was generally receptive of the budget saying it was developmental and would impact positively on economic revival.

He cited the reduction of corporate tax from 20 to 25 percent as a move in the right direction and said the reduction was in line with what was obtaining in the region. He also said other concessions on tax on inputs for local production would help stimulate domestic industry.

Zesa also got some support.Though way below their requirements, it will go some way in improving their operations.

The establishment of a Constituency Development Fund is another major development that is most welcome although it has to be monitored adequately to ensure that it is used for its intended purposes and is not abused for both personal and political gain.

It is necessary that this fund be audited properly to ensure that communities benefit from it.

The minister said the fund would be used to drill boreholes, repair of clinics and schools and building of market stalls.

I would also suggest that the fund be used to establish income-generating projects especially for unemployed women and youths to improve livelihoods.

Minister Biti said some of the measures to be adopted to ensure minimum abuse if any would be to pay suppliers directly and disbursement on the basis of each constituency development fund.

In the same vein of improving accountability in the use of public resources, Minister Biti said Government was working on resuscitating the Public Finance Management System, a computer based accounting and financial system.

This is commendable given that the success of any programmes that we have adopted or will adopt depends on a high degree of accountability and we hope this will go beyond the budget statement but would be translated into action.

Other measures that the minister proposed include the resuscitation of the Housing Guarantee Fund.

Given the lack of investment in this sector the US$26 million set aside for the fund should go a long way in the revival of the construction industry especially the provision of low cost houses.

Next week I will continue with the analysis of the budget and, as usual, am open to your views.

In conclusion, PM Tsvangirai made a statement to the House of Assembly and urged parliamentarians to carry out their oversight mandate on the executive.

As the leader of Government business in Parliament, PM Tsvangirai said Parliamentarians should hold to account all public servants and should not hesitate to bring to book those found abusing their offices.

He also promised to make himself available during question and answer sessions when parliament returns from the festive season’s break.

We hope he also ensures that ministers also come to respond to questions from backbenchers so that the public is always in the know of Government programmes and have any other concerns they might have answered.

Another important aspect he touched on was the remuneration of MPs given their role as representatives of the public.

While we do not expect legislators to earn executive perks, it is also important that they be given something reasonable given their responsibilities.

Apart from legislators, every civil servant should be adequately remunerated to ensure that they are not susceptible to bribes and other corrupt activities.

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Labels: 2010 BUDGET, LAND REFORM, TENDAI BITI

posted by MrK @ 6:41 PM