2020 National Budget Doesn’T Offer Much Relief To Ordinary Citizens
Abstract
On Friday, 27th September 2019, Finance Minister, Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu presented the 2020 National Budget under the theme “Focusing National Priorities towards Stimulating the Domestic Economy”. As in the Presidential address, a fortnight ago, the Minister did acknowledge that the country’s economy was at a low, expected to grow at only 2% by December 2019, half the projected growth of 4%. The situation calls for much concern when compared to a growth of 6 – 7% the country enjoyed when the Patriotic Front (PF) Party took over government
Description
In 2020, government has targeted a growth of 3%. This simply means that the current hardships majority citizens are facing will continue. Challenges such as lack of access to basic nutritious food, limited employment opportunities, inadequate income, and limited access to quality health care and safe drinking water will remain unaddressed. There are however, some progressive measures that government needs to be commended for, in the 2020 national budget. The decision to increase allocation to social protection from K2.18 billion in 2019 to K2.6 billion is commendable. If the funds are made available and prudently utilized, this support will bring some relief to the targeted beneficiaries. The decision has enabled vital components such as the social cash transfer (SCT) receiving increased attention. In 2019, government had reduced the allocation to SCT to K699 million from K721 million in 2018. But in 2020, the allocation to SCT has seen a significant increase to K1 billion. An allocation of K1 billion has also been made to off-set retirees’ arrears