Government has unveiled a K 16.7 trillion (about US$3.55 billion) budget for the year 2010 as compared to the approved budget of K 15.27 trillion for this year.

Presenting the budget to parliament today, Minister of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane disclosed that government would constrain lower priority expenditures but direct more resources to programmes aimed at stimulating growth and diversifying the economy.

Dr. Musokotwane said government’s economic agenda for 2010 and beyond would be to overcome the current recession and restore growth back to the pre-global economic crisis trend levels.

He said macroeconomic policies will in 2010 continue to focus on consolidating the recovery of the domestic economic base and protecting key social expenditures in the education and health sectors.

“This will be done by continuing with our economic diversification programme, thereby laying a solid foundation for higher sustainable growth and building resilience to external shocks,” he said.

He said out of the K16.7 trillion 2010 national budget, K12.1 trillion will be raised through domestic revenue collection, representing 72.4 per cent of the budget.

He added that K2.42 trillion, which is 14.5 per cent of the national budget, would be raised from grants from Zambia’s cooperating partners while the balance of K2.18 trillion or 13.1 per cent will be financed through domestic borrowing.

Government will borrow K1.48 trillion from domestic sources and K697.1 billion from foreign financial institutions.

Dr. Musokotwane told parliament that the general public services will consume the largest share of the 2010 national budget at 32.1 per cent.

“This is slightly higher than the 31.8 per cent share in 2009, as a result of the need to finance certain key expenditures such as voter and national registration at a cost of K 128.5 billion, the national census at a cost of K97.6 billion, and the constitution making process at K50 billion,” he explained.

He added that these programmes will collectively consume 1.7 per cent of the 2010 budget.

The presentation of national budget in advance of the financial year follows a change in the budget cycle after a constitutional amendment.

This will ensure that the budget is implemented over a full one year as opposed to previous years when the budget for a particular year was presented in March of the financial year.

And Dr. Musokotwane has proposed that the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) threshold should increase from K700,000 to K800,000 per month while the tax bands have remained unchanged.

“This means that those earning below K 800, 000 per month will be exempt from this tax. This measure will return K 85.0 billion to pockets of our workers,” he said.

He said the tax credit to the differently-abled persons has been increased from this year’s K 900, 000 to K1, 560,000 per annum, adding that this will result in minimum revenue loss.

These measures will be effected in April 2010.

Meanwhile, Dr. Musokotwane has expressed optimism that Zambia’s economic growth for this year has been projected at 4.3 per cent, which is a downward revision from the 5 per cent he announced in his 2009 budget address.

He said although the country suffered adverse effects of the 2008/2009 global economic crisis, the country will achieve and exceed the 5 per cent economic growth if the economic conditions continue to improve in the final quarter of 2009.

The minister said government’s macroeconomic objectives in 2010 are to exceed 5 per cent economic growth and reduce end-year inflation to 8 per cent.

He said government will limit domestic borrowing to 2.0 per cent.

Dr. Musokotwane has since called on Zambians to continue working hard in order to economically prosper the country.

“It is imperative that we do not lose the ground that we have gained. It is therefore essential that we continue to pursue business friendly macroeconomic policies in order to strengthen and sustain the investor confidence needed for economic growth and job creation,” he stressed.

ZANIS

Government has challenged the Chinese contractors working on infrastructural development projects in Lufwanyama district to erect high quality structures that will stay for many years to come because government was spending huge sums of money on projects.

Special assistant to the president for Policy Implementation and Monitoring, Ben Kapita, says government cannot continue wasting resources by paying for projects that develop faults shortly after their completion.

Mr Kapital was speaking in Lufwanyama when he toured government-funded infrastructural developmental projects that include a district hospital, a high school, a police station, government staff houses and a bridge among others.

He said that there has been a number of shoddy works going on in the country and government has continued to waste resources on such projects that do not last, a trend which he said should be stopped immediately.

He also urged the ministries under which these projects are constructed to involve the staff from the Ministry of Works and Supply to monitor the projects to avoid construction of low quality structures.

And Mr Kapita observed that there have been some civil servants who are dishonest in their execution of duty by certifying shoddy works as satisfactory.

He warned that action would be taken against such employees as they contribute to wastage of public resources.

Meanwhile Mr Kapita has expressed happiness at the rate at which developmental projects were going on Lufwanyama.

Mr Kapita urged the contarctors to quickly finish their works so that the people of Lufwanyama could begin enjoying the facilicities.

And Mr Kapita noted that new districts, such as Lufwanyama, need to have a special funding source in order for their various needs to be met.

Mr Kapita said new districts were in need of a number of services that cannot be met through the normal national budget allocations.

And speaking earlier, Lufwanyama District Commissioner ,Evans Pwele, said the district is faced with a lot challenges, such poor roads, non availability of transport and accommodation for government workers and non-availability of clean drinking water.

Mr Pwele said almost all government workers in Lufwanyama district reside in Kalulushi due non availability of accommodation which negatively affects their work out put as they cannot afford to travel to the district on a daily basis.

ZANIS

KONKOLA Copper Mines (KCM) has given Mulungushi University US $1million for infrastructure development, registrar at the institution Roger Simasiku has said.

Development Coordinating Committee (PDCC) meeting in Kabwe on Wednesday that the development of infrastructure at the university was progressing well.

The Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mulungushi University on the development of the institution.

“KCM has advised that it will come in fully after the University Act no 11 of 1999 is amended to provide for public private partnership in higher education.

“In the meantime let me state here that the mining company has so far given the university $1million for the development of the university,” Mr Simasiku said.

He said the Ministry of Education had since appointed a committee and a team of consultants to review the University Act.

He said the coming in of KCM at the university was expected to accelerate its development physically and academically.

He said the university was continuing with its infrast ructure development being financed by the Government.

The major works being undertaken include the constriction of a modern library, a lecture theatre, a new dining hall, students’ hostels as well as rehabilitation of the water network.

“We also want to install five generators at the institution at a cost of K3billion to ensure a steady supply of electricity and we are also undertaking irrigation and poultry projects at a cost of K7 billion,” Mr Simasiku said.

He defended the high fees the university was charging saying the institution was self-sustaining and never received bursary subsidies from the Government like the University of Zambia and Copperbelt University.

He was happy to note that enrolment of students at the institution had greatly improved.

For the full time diploma and degree programmes that started last month, Mr Simasiku said 32 diploma and 154 degree students have been enrolled.

[Times of ZAmbia]