By Mercy Matonga:
Some civil society leaders have asked the government to implement measures that will foster economic growth amid the ongoing economic crisis.
The calls come after Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda presented the 2025-26 national budget statement to Parliament on Friday.
National Advocacy Platform Chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said the government had made pledges that seemed unrealistic given the country’s current economic situation.
“We are yet to see how the government will implement this because, at this stage, it is merely a plan. The government may not even be able to collect the projected revenue, and what matters most is how far it can go in achieving that target,” Kondowe said.
He further said that the government had outlined numerous development initiatives that did not align with the sources of income specified in the budget.
“For instance, infrastructure development has been allocated around K142 billion, yet the number of roads the government intends to construct or upgrade does not match the allocated funds,” Khondowe added.
On his part, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira said the government should prioritise and limit the number of projects in respect to the projected revenue collection.
“We have seen how the government has failed to fund MDAs [ministries, departments and agencies], including councils, because it struggled to collect more revenue. The little revenue that is being collected is being used to service government loans,” Kambwandira said.
Last week, Chithyola announced a K8.05 trillion budget.
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