Government Boosts Public Sector Funding in October

The Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr Situmbeo Musokotwane, has announced that in October the government released K13.9 billion in order to finance public service delivery.

A proportion of these funds were dedicated furthering the government’s pledges to increase social protection in the country. For example, K62.9 million was released for the Food Security Pack programme. The programme aims to empower viable but poor farmer households with agricultural inputs to achieve self-sufficiency and improve nutrition. Similarly, K.3.6 billion was released for the procurement of inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).

Similarly, K398.8 million was allocated to Youth and Women Empowerment under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). This brings CDF spending to K3.4 billion out of the total K4 billion budget for 2022. K197.3m was released towards the Social Cash Transfer Programme in order to help the most vulnerable citizens.

All three schemes are set to be extended in 2023 under the government’s 2023 budget, announced on Friday 30th September. Food Security Packs are expected to benefit an even greater number of rural constituents and the Fertiliser Input Subsidy Programme is set to be reformed to include extension service support, irrigation support and improved access to finance. The CDF’s budget is set to expand from K1.6 million to K25.7 and the Social Cash Transfer Programme is set for a 19.8% budget increase.

The treasury also committed K1 billion towards capital investment projects including road infrastructure, Kasama Airport, and K170 million for school infrastructure as part of the New Dawn administration’s commitment to building 120 new schools with World Bank Funding.

In a statement released by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, the Secretary to the Treasury insisted “the identification of programmes and the criteria for allocating resources in the budget is predominantly guided by the collective aspirations of the people of Zambia”. “Over the medium term, the Government will focus on stimulating the domestic economy through promotion of investment, and expansion in the agriculture, mining and tourism sector.”