Civil servants assured of bonus, as government courts private sector for projects

Civil servants will receive their annual bonus as usual, even as the Government works on keeping its expenditures under control, Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said.

Speaking at the end of Parliament’s four-day Pre-Budget Seminar in Bulawayo yesterday, Prof Ncube reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to rewarding public workers for their contribution to national development.

The assurance comes as ministries and Government departments submitted funding requests of nearly ZiG1 trillion for the coming financial year, against estimated revenues of ZiG347 billion.

“Without any difficulty, we are going to pay civil servants their bonuses,” he said.

“As you know, as the Second Republic, we have never missed payment of civil servants’ bonuses. We have to thank them for their hard work. We have even gone to the extent of paying traditional chiefs bonuses, something which had not happened since independence.”

The just-ended seminar provided an opportunity for ministries to outline their funding requirements and priorities, which will ultimately shape the 2027 National Budget to be presented on November 19.

“I think this has been a very constructive retreat by Parliament working with the Minister of Finance and with Government ministers who are here to present on their activities. It’s been a very constructive process,” he said.

The 2027 Budget, Prof Ncube said, would continue supporting structural transformation and economic reforms necessary to achieve an empowered, prosperous and highly industrial country by 2030, while also making provision for climate-related and external economic shocks.

“Look, we cannot naturally accommodate anything beyond the ZiG347 billion that the economy will allow in terms of our current capacity, our revenue-raising capacity. So, while everybody has asked for more money, we cannot reach the almost ZiG1 trillion that they are asking for. There will be a haircut everywhere for everyone to fit into the ZiG347 billion that we are projecting,” he said.

Prof Ncube’s remarks underline the balancing act facing Treasury as it seeks to finance public services, infrastructure development and other economic priorities while maintaining fiscal discipline.

On concerns over delays in the disbursement of funds to ministries and departments, Prof Ncube said the Government was operating a cash-budgeting system, under which expenditure had to be supported by actual revenue collections.

“We eat what we kill. We live within our means. But of course, sometimes it’s a coordination issue where budget releases run too far ahead because of the pressure from the ministers. The releases run too far ahead of the availability of cash to support those releases,” he said.

To improve coordination, the Government has established a cash management committee tasked with forecasting revenue inflows and cash requirements one to two weeks ahead.

The committee is expected to ensure that budget allocations are aligned with available cash, reducing the risk of ministries receiving funding commitments that Treasury cannot immediately honour.

The Government is also seeking to address outstanding arrears, with Prof Ncube saying the arrears clearance strategy presented to Parliament last year would guide efforts to settle existing obligations and prevent the accumulation of new ones.

A tighter project approval system is among the measures being introduced, with Treasury concurrence now required for projects valued above US$2 million.

“What we want to do is to tighten the approval process for projects to avoid over-contracting. So, any projects above US$2 million will require Treasury concurrence so that MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) stay within the allocated budgets and we don’t accumulate arrears,” he said.

Beyond conventional budget allocations, the Government is increasingly looking to private-sector participation to mobilise additional resources for infrastructure development.

Prof Ncube said structures were being put in place to establish an infrastructure fund that would support investment in roads, health facilities, water infrastructure and other projects.

The approach will particularly target infrastructure projects capable of generating revenue through user charges, allowing private investors to participate in financing and development.

“We are going to be raising resources from the private sector. I think we have already started the structures that we are putting in place to create an infrastructure fund which will cover road construction, health infrastructure, water infrastructure and other infrastructure,” he added.

“So, in terms of infrastructure funding where we can collect user charges such as fees and so forth, we will be leaning on the private sector, crowding in the private sector to support us,” he said.

The strategy is part of broader efforts to widen the sources of development financing while ensuring that limited public resources are directed towards priority programmes and projects. *_-Sunday Mail_*