Budget debate starts Sept 10
Parliament is set to resume sitting next Wednesday when committees are expected to report back on their analysis of the K742.6 billion 2014/15 national budget before members of Parliament (MPs) begin debate.
The arrangement follows the adoption of new Standing Orders which allow parliamentary committees to examine the budget allocations as proposed by Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe on Tuesday.
Standing Order 136 (2) states that once the minister tables a motion that estimates of expenditure on revenue and development accounts be committed to the committee of the whole House, debate is expected to be adjourned until after 10 working days to allow for a thorough examination of the allocations.
But Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya asked the House to waive the Standing Order and allow the committees to scrutinise the budget allocations within five days starting yesterday.
Msowoya said spokespersons on finance from major political parties represented in Parliament would respond to the budget as tabled by Gondwe next Wednesday.
Among the nine identified cluster committees to scrutinise the budget include Education, Transport, Public Accounts, Budget and Finance, Legal Affairs, Commerce and Trade, and HIV/Health.
The agriculture sector has once again been allocated a lion’s share of K142 billion which includes K50.8 billion for fertiliser subsidy, Health has received K65.2 billion, Education K127 billion while Transport and Public Works has been allocated K31 billion and the committees have been tasked with scrutinising the allocations.
In the past, MPs have come under fire for hurriedly passing the budget without informed analysis or scrutiny of allocations as outlined in all budget documents.
Political and social governance commentator Chris Chisoni has doubted the capacity of the committees, which comprise new MPs, to adequately analyse the budget without technical expertise.
Said Chisoni: “Parliament has been given a daunting task here. It would have been better if Parliament had technical committees and researchers as it used to be in the past. Not to underrate the initiative, but there could be a lack of uniformity in the analysis and levels of participation cannot be guaranteed.”
But Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) executive director Martha Kwataine has welcomed the new arrangement, saying debate at committee level would give the MPs time to ask relevant questions from experts where necessary.
She said: “Just as it is in any learning set-up, size of a group matters and capacity can be easily built.”
