THE security sector, which includes the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), Defence and War Veterans Affairs and the Home Affairs ministries were some of the departments that got the largest chunk of the $4,5 trillion 2023 national budget, with $785,8 billion set aside for them.
Announcing the 2023 national budget yesterday at the new
Parliament building in Mt Hampden, near Harare, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube
allocated $331,1 billion to Defence, $293 billion to the Home Affairs ministry,
and $161,7 billion to the OPC, which houses
the Central Intelligence Organisation.
Ncube allocated only $76 billion for the 2023 elections
saying this would cater for “the remaining activities covering voter registration,
voter inspection, and actual voting exercise.
On Monday, the European Union availed US$5,9 million for
the 2023 elections.
The Primary and Secondary Education ministry got the lion’s
share of the budget — $631 billion, followed by Health (473,8 billion) and
Agriculture ($362, 5 billion).
In his justification for the generous Defence budget, Ncube
said: “The 2023 national budget has set aside resources towards capacitation of
the uniformed forces with accommodation, rations and equipment, as well as
improve their remuneration; both monetary and non-monetary, in order to fight
crime, maintain law and order, as well as general peace and security.”
On war veterans, Ncube said their welfare remains a
priority, with the 2023 budget setting aside $46 billion towards their monetary
and non-monetary benefits, as well as capitalisation of their companies in
mining, tourism, and agriculture, among others.
The security sector has been credited for Zanu PF’s hold on
power for the past 42 years.
Ncube said peace guarantees public order and safety, adding
that it was critical for the economic development of the country.
He said the increase in the crime rate, ranging from armed
robberies, rape to murder, among others, were a cause of concern, hence the
need for adequate capitalisation of the uniformed forces.
“The prevailing peaceful environment in the country should
be cherished and reflects the bravery and commitment of our men and women in
the uniformed forces. Peace and security guarantee public order, safety and is
critical for economic development.”
The Home Affairs ministry got $293 billion, which Ncube
said would go towards maintenance of law and order, registration and issuance
of secure identification documents, as well as migration management.
On the $631,3 billion Primary and Secondary education
budget, Ncube said resources will be directed towards increased free education
coverage.
For employment costs, Ncube set aside $2,2 trillion, which
will include medical aid and pension contributions.
“This amount includes $659, 4 billion and $336,5 billion
for salaries and allowances for the education and health sectors,
respectively. The share of employment
costs to total expenditure is projected at 52,4% in 2023, an increase from
42,3% in 2022. The increase in
employment cost level is on account of the need to cushion civil servants
against the impact of global economic challenges and domestic price increases.”
He said $7,5 billion would be set aside for medical
supplies for public hospitals.
For social protection and mitigation of the food deficit,
$50,4 billion was allocated, while $195,5 billion was allocated towards
devolution.
Former Finance minister Tendai Biti (Harare East MP) said
Ncube should have simply presented a foreign currency budget.
[Zimbabwe is in the middle of structural economic crises
characterised by poverty, disequilibrium, high inflation, and an exchange rate
crisis and total collapse of public services. For the third time in 20 years,
Zimbabwe is in the middle of yet another self-induced recession created by high
borrowing costs, relentless inflation and a squeeze on government payments to
contractors. An honest budget ought to
have been presented in US dollars. After
all, more than half of government taxes are now being collected in US dollars.
This would then have allowed civil servants to be paid in US dollars,” Biti
said.
He said macroeconomic instability in the country should be resolved by dollarisation. Newsday
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