Opposition accuses govt of lying in mid-year budget
Opposition legislators on Monday accused
Responding to 2018/19 Mid-Year Budget Review Statement Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe delivered in Parliament, opposition legislators noted that government was painting a rosy economic growth while the country is still suffering.
They also cautioned government to stop borrowing both domestically and internationally, noting that the debts have now reached K3.3 trillion.
In his response to the statement, Lilongwe Mpenu Nkhoma member of Parliament (MP) Collins Kajawa who sat in for Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson on Finance Alexander Kusamba Dzonzi, said his party will no longer support any borrowing as the figures have soared in the first six months.
People’s Party spokesperson on Finance John Chikalimba reiterated the MCP position, saying it was sad that government mentioned economic growth when people are still living in abject poverty.
He acknowledged the sentiments by government that the economy is on a modest rebound, but said downside risks still remain.
In his contribution, Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament chairperson Rhino Chiphiko said the mid-year outturn could have been better if government and Parliament were more honest and realistic with the fiscal budget assumptions.
But his response by Chiphiko was withdrawn by Speaker Richard Msowoya after some members of the committee said the chairperson did not consult them.
During budget review last year, public finance analyst at the Malawi National Assembly, Mphatso Elias Ackim, said there is need for government to improve efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditures, including bolstering efforts to reduce wastages and leakages throughout the expenditure chain, if the country is to control domestic borrowing. n
