FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube yesterday revealed that President Emmerson Mnangagwa played a part in the formulation of the 2024 national budget to be presented in Parliament this afternoon.
Ncube made the revelations in an interview with a
State-owned local television channel saying the budget was, in essence,
Mnangagwa’s.
The budget presentation follows complaints that Treasury
had failed to conduct physical public consultations for the budget.
Ncube said he met Mnangagwa outside Cabinet on several
occasions where he would dictate what he wanted to be included in the budget.
“I meet the President every week, not in Cabinet. We meet
because the Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion ministry
reports directly to his Excellency,” Ncube said.
“It’s his ministry, so we meet every week to discuss policy
issues.
“When it comes to the budget again, I take him through our
thinking in terms of the excess budget and how the economy is doing.
“I take him through the revenue measures, and he always
comes back, pushes back, and give us ideas. He always asks very good
questions.”
He said Mnangagwa was aware of the content of the budget to
be presented today.
“Actually, I do not want to be questioned by him. They are
tough questions, and you have to be clear, so I would say, maybe I should do
this differently. So, we have that interaction. He had tremendous input into
the budget,” Ncube told ZTN.
“As I speak, he knows everything that I will be presenting
in terms of revenue measures, areas of relief, additional revenue, and areas of
how to improve the tax administration. He is fully aware, and he has given
input.
“In a way, it’s his budget.”
Although Ncube said the Finance ministry was under
Mnangagwa’s supervision, under Government Gazette General Notice 1925A of 2023,
as prescribed by sections 99 and 104 of the Constitution, the President
assigned Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga to oversee all economic sector
ministries.
Meanwhile, public finance watchdogs yesterday raised fears
that the budget would not reflect the citizens’ aspirations because of limited
consultations.
The consultations were conducted online, mainly on public
radio stations, unlike in previous years, where meetings would be done
physically.
Coalition for Market and Liberal Solution executive
director Rejoice Ngwenya said the Treasury chief’s remarks explain why the
national budget was “militarised.”
“I do not for once think ED (Mnangagwa) has the 'depth' and
interest to contribute anything to the budget, other than saying 'add more
money to the soldiers and police'. If indeed, as he says, it's his budget, it's
going to be shallow and uneventfully dreary,” he said.
Zimbabwe Coalition for Debt and Development programmes
manager John Maketo said: “The budget must address the immediate needs of
ordinary people, particularly bread and butter issues. It must make sense to
all.”
He said the budget must be inclusive, pro-poor, and create
opportunities for the majority of the poor.
“It must seek to close existing inequality gaps. This is an
indication that public policy is top-driven rather than people-driven,” Maketo
said.
National Consumer Rights Association spokesperson, Effie
Ncube, told NewsDay that government must take stakeholder input seriously.
“Consultation for the sake of consultation is not the way
to go. It must be a good faith engagement,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) challenged
Ncube to present a pro-poor budget.
“Reviewing taxes downwards for anyone earning less than a
living wage is a must,” ZCTU secretary-general Japhet Moyo said in an
interview.
“The government should not tax someone earning below a
minimum wage.”
Ncube presents the budget when the majority of the
country’s citizens are wallowing in poverty with the Zimdollar on a free-fall
while companies are struggling to stay afloat.
There have been calls to re-dollarise, but Mnangagwa has
dug in saying his dedollariation strategy remains on course.
Mnangagwa reintroduced the local currency in 2019 after a
decade of relative economic stability. Newsday
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