TANZANIA: MASSIVE 'YES' FOR 2014/15 BUDGET

Tanzania Minister for Finance, Ms Saada Mkuya Salum

Dodoma — THE 19.6 trillion/- budget for 2014/15 year has sailed through Parliament, allowing the government to continue with plans for massive investments in infrastructure.

Parliament approved the budget that has outlined sweeping measures to boost revenue collection, tighten discipline in public finance and cut tax exemption that cost the nation 1.4tri/- last year.

However, most MPs from the Opposition voted against it but could not change the result due to their numerical disadvantage. Out of the 300 legislators present, 234 voted to pass the budget while 66 said 'no'. No vote was spoilt.

Fifty-four (54) MPs were absent. The Minister for Finance, Ms Saada Mkuya Salum, told the House that some businessmen had flocked to Dodoma to lobby against implementation of some tax measures, vowing to resist such pressure. "I am ready to fight for tax to be paid," she vowed.

Ms Salum informed the House that the government intended to work on recommendations to cut tax exemptions but noted that it needed the support of MPs. "We have taken measures.

The government intends to implement the recommendations," she said, adding that the government would work on recommendations on deep sea fishing, which,however, needed time for preparations.

She said the increasing of the national debt could not be avoided because old debts were maturing and the government continues to borrow to finance major development projects.

Ms Salum said the government would stick with plans to reduce the threshold on the age of non-utility motor vehicles charged excise duty of 25 per cent from the current 10 years to eight.

She pointed out that the reasons behind the plans were to protect the country from becoming a dumping ground for aged vehicles.

Ms Mkuya said the government would give priority to paying domestic debts, which would have to pass through a stern verification process to authenticate their validity.

She told MPs that the government has found out that 'some of the debts have been inflated to unimaginable levels'. "We are not going to pay them until we do the verification," she stressed.

The government would adopt a performance- based disbursement approach from 2014/15 to enhance control in public finance management, said the minister.

"There will be no disbursement of funds unless we get implementation report," she emphasized, noting the approach was being used by developing partners in granting aid to the country.

Meanwhile, the government has agreed to reallocate 165.82bn/- to 15 allocations that sectoral committees asked for funds through the Budget Committee.

Reading the Budget Committee's report, a member of the committee, Mr Festus Limbu, noted that the government has agreed to relocate the funds after a dialogue. He noted that out of the 165.82bn/-, 130.95bn/- will be located on crucial recurrent expenditures that lacked funds while 34.9bn/- would be allocated on development projects.

"Despite the fact that the committee had requested for an addition of 225bn/- in the budget, we have bowed to the reality on the availability of funds in the government, we have agreed to the relocation of 165.82bn/- ," he said.

Mr Limbu added that the funds will be reallocated from other allocations and that the ministry would explain how it would be done. Mr Limbu noted that the Minister for Finance, Ms Saada Mkuya Salum, was involved every step on the way.

He pointed out that various experts from the Treasury were involved as well since they are the ones responsible with all the matters related to allocation and disbursement of funds as indicated in the budget. He noted also that officials from the Planning Commission were consulted.

The committee member noted that 10 sectoral committees presented 74 areas that needed to be dealt with in the committee in a bid to improve the budget.

"Out of the 74 areas presented, 14 were to do with the request for the deficit in the budget that ends this June, 49 were about application for additional funds in the 2014/2015's budget while eight were about policy matters," he said.

Mr Limbu also noted that out of the 49 requests for more funds, seven were about development projects for 2014/2015 fiscal year while 42 were about repayment of loans and ration allowances among others.