Zimbabwe’s finance minister admitted that drawing up the budget was ”not an easy task” and painted a bleak picture of the current economic situation, with manufacturing, tourism and mining all having registered losses.
Herbert Murerwa told parliament that large allocations had been assigned to education, government wages and land reform. The country’s overstretched health sector has also been allocated a generous amount, as has the defence ministry.
Without giving a figure, Murerwa noted that a ”substantial increase” had been allocated for defence to ensure Zimbabwe remains ”a safe place to live in”.
Murerwa raised laughter from the opposition benches in parliament when he asked the house to allow him to ”dispel any perceptions” Zimbabwe did not respect property rights.
A controversial land reform programme over the past two years has seen most of the country’s 4 500 white farmers losing their properties for redistribution to new black farmers.
The minister said 14-billion Zimbabwe dollars would be directed specifically to land reform, while a further 88-billion Zimbabwe dollars ($1,6-billion) would go towards capital developments in the sector, such as developing irrigation.
Wages for civil servants absorbed a large share of the budget, getting 266,5-billion ($4,8-billion) in a widely anticipated move. Already this year doctors, nurses, teachers and university lecturers have gone on strike over pay.
Murerwa said there would be significant spending on road construction and improvements. This will be welcomed by road users in the country, which has lately suffered a spate of deadly road accidents. – Sapa