The opposition DPP has re-enforced its disapproval of the 2020/2021 national budget saying the financial blue-print falls short of bailing the country out of its’ current economic status.
In the budget-plan under discussion government has almost doubled borrowing from MK315 bn. to near MK754.8 bn. raising fears such a debt could overburden the private sector and also force inflation and interest rates go up.
Currently; of late the local currency seems to be losing grip on the currency market – a development the DPP feels the Tonse Government is being over ambitious to achieve its pre-election commitments.
According to finance spokesperson for the party – Joseph Mwanamveka “this budget is a sham if you consider that most of the underlining assumptions will never hold … the assumptions estimated for DGP growth, inflation and exchange rate for instance will not hold.
“These assumptions will not hold considering that with Covid-19 revenues have come down significantly and countries are facing economic recession and Malawi can’t be a lone star performer”.
On her turn; responding to the budget statement, Gladys Ganda, chairperson of the budget committee argued the budget is a failed promise as its’ silent on many pre-election promises.
While commending government for setting a tone towards for the Affordable Inputs Program, creation of 200, 000 enterprises to lead into creation of 600, 000 jobs and the increase in the tax-free-band, Ganda said the opposition was expecting more.
“While government cannot deliver all of its pledges in a single financial year, we expected that this budget would set the tone of living the promise … let me thus remind the new Government that Malawians are waiting for the more which they were promised,” she said.
According to the chairperson; the silence in the budget of: reduced passport fees, reduced and non-renewable driver’s license and the one million jobs was clear sign of a broken promise – an assertion that brought discomfort on MCP Members of Parliament for the Budget Committee.
Given the historic growth of the country’s economy Ganda said it would be naïve of government to set its economic growth projections too high like the projected 4.5 percent growth rate in 2021.Meanwhile, outside Parliament the consumers’ rights lobby group – Cama has asked government to scrap-off the Affordable Farm Inputs Program in the 2020/2021 budget.
Executive director of the grouping John Kapito has told MIJ Online the country can do without the program as it “has a history of failure evidenced from the perennial hunger to have rocked the country in recent years”.