Lusaka Province Minister, Charles Shawa, has called for proper planning and budgeting in view of reduced domestic revenue collection due to the biting global economic recession.
Mr Shawa says the effects of poor domestic revenue collection is being felt by all government ministries through delayed funding to the health sector and other social services.[quote]
Mr Shawa says it is for this reason that concerned technocrats in government ministries and institutions should plan well and put the scarce resources on programmes with potential to yield maximum benefits to the majority of the people in the country.
The Provincial Minister said this during the official launch of the Lusaka Provincial Health Planning meeting for the 2010 – 2012 Medium Term Framework (MTEF).
He told the meeting attended by some members of parliament, hospital executives and cooperating partners among others, that there is need to scale up human resources in the health sector, HIV and AIDS, malaria, TB, nutrition and other public health interventions in order to sustain quality service delivery to the people.
Mr Shawa further noted that there is also need to pay particular attention to strengthening of systems through improved performance as well as improved internal controls for public financial management and accountability.
Mr Shawa added that the key challenge faced recently is the withholding of funds by cooperating partners.
He said it is, therefore, critical that this constraint be taken into account when budgeting by ensuring that first level hospital care is placed under GRZ funding rather than the donor basket.
ZANIS
What proper planning?
Mwebantu, talking you talk, but doing you dont. Stop wasting our time as Zambians and concentrate on finding ways and means of tansparently channeling the little resources you already to the poor and the needy.
Dont mention anything about the recession when in the actual fact you havent even gone through it, our economy is too rigid to have a recession.
Ba Gov benifye innovative and look for serious business ventures like investin in the private sector and empower the ordinary zambians.
ok guys wat significant strides has the new minister of finance made?
well they should have thought of this years back we would reduce donor dependence but this is falling on deaf matwi and how does he think they can plan ,any ideas?
#3 with all the rich education and experience background. he seems quite smart and able to do a good job, having heard him speak he impressed me but what worries me is the enviroment he is operating in,he requires more people at his level. he has very good ideas that may work well with the right support, my fear is that he will be frustrated by the cheap politicians we have,as there are very few smart brains in the top leadership of our country most of them found themselves in the top by accident. we need more of magande,musokotwane,chirwa …you cant taste a grain of sugar in a cup of lemon..
Hon Charles Shawa how to explain things but the planning will yield very little as hinderance to implement development progammes is hindered by technocrats as they are preoccupied by serving personal interests. Believe or not the majority of working class doing very well on average in Lusaka are top civil servants. Donars have been pumping in various developmental projects with very little positive results one handed over to Zambians everything goes in flames. We are yet to see may be this time with arrests being effected here and there they are dam scared.
yes proper planning like sending a six man delegation to deliver a pregnant cow to Tanzania and spend K68 million. what a shame