It's a development budget - Kwesiga

It's a development budget - Kwesiga
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sun 14 Oct. 2012, 14:30 CAT

AFRICA Development Bank country representative Freddie Kwesiga has hailed Zambia's 2013 national budget presented last Friday as a development budget saying 'this is the way to go'.

And former Republican vice-president Enoch Kavindele says the 2013 budget is an excellent one and will get the country to a good start.From front page
Meanwhile, Auditor General Anna Chifungula says the 2013 budget is a plus.

In an interview shortly after finance minister Alexander Chikwanda delivered the K32.2 trillion 2013 budget speech at Parliament on Friday afternoon, Dr Kwesiga said he liked the manner Chikwanda presented the core areas of the budget, sector by sector.

"What else did you expect? I think for me this is a development budget," said Dr Kwesiga. "This is the way to go."

He said that the 2013 budget had given very good impetus in areas where the government is spending its resources.

Kavindele said that the PF's maiden budget had gone beyond expectation.
"We are on to a good start. Everything has just gone very correct," said Kavindele.

When asked if the 2013 national budget was indicative of the country's departure from donor dependence, US Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella said he could only comment after studying the document.

"I have to study it," said Ambassador Storella as he walked out of the Parliament building from the VIP gallery where he had been following Chikwanda's budget presentation with other diplomats.

During presentation of the budget in the House, Chikwanda said President Michael Sata had gotten the country to a good start.

"Unlike what we saw in the not so distant past," Chikwanda said, "let us join the President in getting Zambia moving at full-throttle."

Chikwanda said in his concluding remarks that those that stage a claim of leadership need to set a moral benchmark and embrace accommodation and tolerance.

"For the opposite is not an option but a recipe for doom," said Chikwanda as opposition members of parliament shouted: "Doom, Doom."

Kick-starting the parliamentarians' debate on next year's budget, Bangweulu PF member of parliament Chifita Matafwali described it as an antidote.

"It is always joyous to be associated with a momentous occasion," said Matafwali as opposition members of parliament urged him to take it easy.

"Today's event, on this 12th day of October in the year of the Lord 2012 is an historical and indeed momentous day. It is indeed the first PF moulded budget."
Zesco managing director Cyprian Chitundu said that the money the government had directed to the energy sector in the 2013 budget showed that it wants to do things differently.

"The energy sector has lacked investment for a number of years and we are late," Chitundu said. "Kafue Lower Power Station should have been done 18 years ago. Itezhi-tezhi should have been done 10 years ago. Now we are doing these projects."

Chitundu said the country's energy sector could not continue talking about the glory that was created by first Republican president Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
"This government is saying let us do things differently," said Chitundu. "Once we have constant power supply, the cost of doing business will be lower...and we are very happy with the money that has been given to us. What we have to do now is to start performing."

Meanwhile, Chifungula said the 2013 budget was a plus because it was growth-oriented but she insisted that her office had to be given a higher role in ensuring that there was prudent management of resources in view of the fact that K32.2 trillion was a lot of money.

"Even when you look at the way they are going to spend the Euro Bond, they are looking at energy, road and infrastructure," Chifungula said. "There is nowhere where it will go to consumption at all. It is development."

Outlining the manner in which the recently-acquired US$750 million Eurobond would be expended, Chikwanda said US$255 million would go to the energy sector, US$430 million would be spent in the transport and road sector, US$20 million would go to the Development Bank of Zambia DBZ for the small and medium enterprises, US$29 million on human capital on access to finance while US$1.4 million would go to fees and transaction costs among other disbursements.
"No room for speculation," said Chikwanda.

However, Chifungula said with the increased funding that had been allocated to the Anti-Corruption Commission ACC and Drug Enforcement Commission DEC( over K100 billion), these institutions would now have no excuses in acting on her reports.

"These increased funding are pluses. It is long overdue," Chifungula said. "With this kind of money which is coming to spending agencies, there will be need, especially for our office, to take a higher role. K32.2 trillion is a lot of money."

On the government's decision to delegate the Zambia Public Procurement Authority ZPPA from active involvement in public procurement to an overseer and regulatory role, Chifungula said that was also a positive move.

"That is how it is in most countries. The public procurement is supposed to play an oversight role to see that procedures are being followed," said Chifungula. "They will now have more time to carry out inspections in the spending agencies."