Opposition parties in Parliament have described the 2023-2024 K3.8 trillion revised budget as wasteful financial plan.
Responding to a midyear budget statement presented by finance minister on Monday this week, United Democratic Front (UDF) spokesperson on finance Ismail Mkumba said the budget has been crafted to salvage the little of what is left of Malawi`s fragile economy.
He said: “Life was already difficult but it is getting even more difficult for the ordinary Malawian due to the recent 44% devaluation, Malawians are getting poorer with each passing day, struggling to afford daily essentials such as sugar, cooking oil, milk, salt, chicken, a newspaper itself to find employment has become luxurious commodity, minibus fares have gone off the roof – it has much cheaper to run a small private vehicle than it is to travel by public transport.”
Mkumba added that in order to transform the country’s economy, government needs to re-think the methods of creating decent paying jobs through new investments, supporting small businesses and start-up entrepreneurs.
“I realize that the government has huge investments with EDF, AGCOM, MAIIC and a selected few high street banks with money from the World Bank, but the strict and incomprehensible disbursements of these funds is so complex that most useful small start-ups are failing to access these funds.
“The Minister of Finance together with the Reserve Bank of Malawi need to quickly come up with new policies on the implementation of these important interventions,” Mkumba said.
On his part, the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) through its finance spokesperson Ralph Jooma said the proposed budget line does not add any value to the lives of the people.
“A Budget whose biggest vote allocation is public debt service is a wasteful Budget because this particular Budget line does not add any value to the lives of the people. If anything, it only exists to deplete the little wealth we have,” he said.
Jooma added that the Tonse-led administration should stop the tendency of blaming previous administrations on its failures Malawians are currently experiencing.
He said: “This is a sign of a desperate Administration that has done very little in the whole Financial Year but wants to make false claims before its citizens.”
According to the finance minister Simplex Chithyola Banda, the recent 44 percent realignment of the Kwacha against the US dollar is one such change in budget assumptions that warrants a review of our budget if Government has to deliver on its social and developmental mandate.
