Government changes budget cycle

Government has gazetted a Constitution Amendment Bill of 2009 to change the budget cycle so that it can be approved before the commencement of each financial year.

Briefing the press Vice-President George Kunda said June 24 that the Amendment Bill will improve budget implementation because Government will have a complete year to execute it.

“The financial year in Zambia starts from January 1 to December 31 of each year. This means that the budget will be approved within 90 days before the commencement of the financial year if the amendments are enacted by Parliament in the next sitting,” he said.

Kunda said currently, the budget is approved within the first three months of the commencement of the financial year (January 1 to March 31), leaving only nine months for budget implementation. He said this trend makes it difficult for Government to efficiently implement development projects.

“As a result, members of the public, parliamentarians and cooperating partners have called for the change of the budget cycle and Government is merely responding to such calls,” he said.

Kunda said it is important to note that the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) has already approved the amendment as recommended by the Mung’omba Commission. The Vice-President said Government’s move to publish the Constitutional Amendment to change the budget cycle is not a partisan issue. The Vice-President said Article 79 of the Constitution requires any Bill intended to amend the Constitution to be published in the gazette for a period of 30 days before its first reading in the National Assembly.



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