Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara told the National Assembly in Lilongwe yesterday that the 2024/25 Mid-Year Budget Review Statement will be presented next Wednesday and not today as earlier indicated.
She said the decision was arrived at after a meeting of the Business Committee, which comprises leaders of parties represented in Parliament, approved the rescheduling during a meeting Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs representatives.
But Mulanje South West legislator George Chaponda, who is Leader of Opposition in Parliament and a member of the Business Committee, expressed concern that the postponement would not provide the opposition spokespersons time to adequately respond to the House.
“If he presents the statement in the afternoon and we have to respond to the statement next morning, we may not have time to prepare for the statement,” he said.
Machinga East legislator Esther Jolobala (United Democratic Front) agreed with Chaponda and noted that the rescheduling might affect the rest of the House.
However, Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda allayed the concerns that postponing presentation of the Mid-Year Budget Review Statement to next Wednesday would rob members of the chance to properly review and respond to the document.
He assured the legislators that they would have the full seven days to review the statement before deliberations.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs has moved to postpone the presentation apparently to factor in the austerity measures President Lazarus Chakwera directed the ministry to include in the 2024/25 Mid-Year Budget Review Statement.
