Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda has described the 2023/2024 mid-year budget meeting of Parliament as very successful.
Chimwendo Banda made the remarks on Friday at parliament following adjournment of the house Sie Dine, which has been meeting for the past four weeks.
He said: “I am excited that we have concluded budget at the high note we have achieved all what we planned for the sitting, we mainly came for the midyear budget review, members deliberated on it and then there was a budget passed the appropriation bill passed, so we are happy.”
The house leader added that apart from passing the revised national budget, the House also adopted over eleven legislative Bills and deliberated on ministerial statements.
“We took advantage of the sitting to pass in important legislation, we have done quite a lot of bills actually, four weeks and the Bill we have done are more than eleven Bills.
“These are legislative Bill, no money ever came in the house, legislative take more time, you have to consult, you have to go and check, and you have to liaise with stakeholders and that has happened,” Chimwendo Banda said.
On his part, opposition leader Kondwani Nankhumwa faulted government for continued misallocation of public funds that the house has been deliberating through the budget.
“That is why I wish to commend this August House for its sustained efforts to bring about macroeconomic stability in this country through the sustained passing of budgets like the K4.3 trillion mid-year budget that we passed on Monday, December 4, 2023.
“However, after three years of passing budgets under the Tonse Alliance administration, led by President Lazarus Chakwera, we have discovered that passing budgets is one thing, and implementing a budget is another. Oftentimes, this august House has passed budgets that differ from the ones this administration has implemented,” Nankhumwa said.
The four-week third meeting of the fiftieth session of parliament started meeting on November 13, 2023, throughout December 8, 2023, primarily to deliberate on the mid-year national budget.
