Parliament approves over P500 million supplementary budget

Parliament has approved a sup- plementary budget amounting to P578 968 180 for four minis- tries for the financial year 2015/16.  According to the Financial paper No. 3 of 2015/16 the proposal for the Consolidated and Development Fund Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure are for the five minis- tries - State Presidency, Education and Skills Development, Health, Lands and Housing and Environ- ment Wildlife and Tourism.

The paper was tabled by finance minister Kenneth Matambo in Parliament. Under the recurrent budget State Presidency requested additional funding amounting to P5, 233, 700 to cater for the 6 percent salary increase which was effected in April 2015.
Further, the education ministry requested for additional funding of P288, 030, 910 to cater for among other things 6 percent adjustment to salaries and allowances which effected in April 2015, settlement of water and electricity bills which grew due to tariff adjustments and increase in purchase of food under the depart- ment of secondary education.

Matambo stated that Ministry of Health requested a total amount of P268, 938,640 also for salaries and overtime, and Scarce Skill Allowance for various professional cadres and to cover for the significant increase in medical specialists fees resulting in a shortfall. The lands ministry requested P16, 764, 930 to cater for a shortfall in the Revenue Support Grant for the Land Boards arising from the 6 percent salary adjustment.

Under the Development Fund Matambo said proposals were with respect to the ongoing project of fleet expansion under the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism which is to cater for the acquisition of aircraft, specialised vehicles and equipment to curb increasing incidents of poaching. The submission requires an increase in the annual provision of MEWT fleet expansion project by P40, 700, 000. This is to be financed by a corresponding reduction in the annual provision of the development of Department of Wildlife and National Parks project. Opposition walked out of Parliament before the budget was approved saying the current government is using Parliament to rubber stamp its decision. The contention by the op- position was that these funds could have been budgeted for in the normal budgeting process.

They accused government of having a tendency of always coming with supplementary requests a few months or weeks before the financial year-end. MP for Ramotswa Samuel Rantuana of Botswana Congress Party said budgeting is a problem for the ruling party. He said things could have been done in a normal process than to rush to parliament at the eleventh hour when the 2016/17 financial year was about to start. MP for Mochudi East, Isaac Davids of Umbrella for Democratic Change wondered where the money could have been channeled to which prompted for continuous supplementary requests. He said there should be accountability for these funds and complained that Batswana are being cheated.

Government Chief Whip Liakat Kably accused the opposition of being crybabies, who always complain that Botswana Democratic Party is failing when government does not increase public servants salaries. He said that people are owed and that they have to be paid and implored the opposition to always put the country first. Kably who is also the member of the Finance and Estimates Committee said they agreed collectively with opposition members in their meetings that through their recommendations Parliament should approve the funds. For his part the Parliament Finance and Estimates Committee Chairman, Ignatius Moswaane said whenever Parliament discusses supplementary budget the opposition walks out of Parliament.

Moswaane said if his committee was not good for Batswana and the country’s economy they could have not approved the supplementary requests. He explained that minis- tries and all relevant stakeholders were summoned by the committee to explain why they need such huge funds and “We had satisfied ourselves with what they told us. I am disappointed to find that issues here at Parliament are being politicised. My committee takes itself serious and we are qualified to do this job”, fumed Moswaane.

For his part Matambo explained that as for the salaries the increment was agreed after Parliament had approved the 2015/16 budget. He admitted that he agreed that in principle funds should be used properly once voted for in Parliament. According to the Finance and Estimates Committee report seen by this publication, all the accounting officers of these ministries convinced the committee satisfactorily.

The committee agreed that regarding the salaries since the adjustment was effected after the original budget was approved; it could not have been factored in the budget and therefore acceded to the request. The committee further recommended that funding under Recurrent Budget should be financed from General Revenue balance while Development Budget should be financed from some of MEWT delayed projects.