Serame presents TNDP budget speech
Minister of Finance, Peggy Serame’s budget speech is expected to address how the over P64 billion approved by parliament to finance the two-year Transition National Development Plan (TNDP) will be used during the first year.
Last December Parliament approved P64.07 billion for the TNDP under the theme, ‘Towards a High Income Economy: Transformation Now, Prosperity Tomorrow', which is scheduled to start in April. TNDP comes in place of the now shelved National Development Plan 12 (NDP) which is also the last and will be effective for the period of 2024-2025.
Government continues to grapple with challenges of unemployment, especially among the youth; poverty; inequality, as well as an undiversified economy, that is dependent on minerals, particularly diamonds.
Government has promised that the implementation of the TNDP would be to achieve “diversified private sector-led growth”, with government only playing a facilitating role.
Financial experts from the government enclave say that Serame’s budget will primarily focus on two factors being; how the P64.7 billion will they distributed within the first and second years of the plan, as well as how government machinery plans to implement the TNDP.
They say in terms of procedures, nothing is expected to change as respective ministers will be required to make their request before the Committee of Supply. The Public Finance Management Act requires Serame to present the Appropriation Bill which is the budget speech after which it will be debated and eventually followed by each ministry presenting its own request.
On Monday, Minister Serame will be presenting for just one year. The respective ministers will be required to still go back and do a similar thing before the committee of supply. “This time requesting for the particular year most likely is to be half the amount they had asked for in line with the Act because that is what the finance warrant is going to be based on”.
Once Parliament has approved the budget, then the Permanent Secretary in the finance ministry must issue a finance warrant based on the expenditure for the particular period.