Peoples Party Wants Prudence in the Implementation of 2015-2016 Budget

Jooma 

The opposition People’s Party (PP) expects prudence in the implementation of the appropriated K923 billion 2015/2016 budget and warns that parliament will keep monitoring the budget implementation.

Spokesperson for the party on Finance matters in the National Assembly, Hon Ralph Jooma said in an interview that the Minister has to stick to the Public Finance Management Act and Appropriation bill guidelines.

Jooma said there is no need to overspend the money or spend outside the budget line, “Now that we have passed the budget which we are calling it a largest budget in this country has ever had, K923 billion, is quite a lot of money”

He said “The expectation is that government should make sure that it implements the budget to the full.”

Hon Jooma warned that since the parliament has been allocated enough money, the committees of parliament will make sure that it monitors the implementation of this budget.

Responding to this call, Leader of House in the National Assembly, Honorable Francis Kasaila says government will ensure that the budget is implemented as approved by the whole house.

“Our expectation is that our colleagues in the offices will start working hard from the 1st July and we want to see some impact from this budget” He said, “Figures in the budget will mean nothing if there will be nothing tangible happening on the ground”

Kasaila who promised that the cabinet work hard to monitor the implementation of the budget, jettison out fears of misappropriation and future cashgate scam.

He said since Bingu Wa Mutharika regime particularly the period of 2009 to 20012, DPP government tried to monitor and supervise government workers in preventing misappropriation, “indeed there is a very clear testimony from the analysis that has been made by the auditors that if we look at the reconciliation reports the figures that could not be reconciled in 2009 to 2012 were minimal but that figure rose sharply from K20 billion to K300 billion in one year (2013, during Joyce Banda administration). But in 2014 that figure went down again to K20 billion.”

Hon Kasaila said their DPP government will make sure that it reconcile the figures and make payment to the right people to prevent future cashgate and misappropriation “We want to assure Malawians that we are going to work hard as government and with the reforms taking place in the Ministry of Finance we believe that the situation is going to improve”