Online Reporter
AFTER long hours of post-budget consultations and no-holds-barred debate in both houses of Parliament, the 2026 national budget, originally presented on November 27, was approved on Wednesday.
We were glad to follow all the discussions in and outside the august House as executives, economists and other experts, as well as legislators, put the voluminous text under the microscope clause by clause and proposal by proposal.
The Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube and his team had a lot of listening to do, much explaining to do, a lot of defending as well and a number of concessions to make.
The debate in the National Assembly on Tuesday, which we followed intently, was especially robust.
This is how democracies work. Ours is one of them. The people don’t take it all unquestioningly; they probe and demand answers, and authorities take the contributions, a few punches on the chin and principled positions here and there. There is give and take, and everyone wins in the end.
We wrote in this space a few weeks ago about the Government’s proposal to double the gold royalty to 10 percent. Yes, authorities had seen an obvious opportunity to cash in on the ongoing gold price rally, but we cautioned that the hike could channel the yellow metal into the underworld, away from Fidelity Gold Refinery, where deliveries have been breaking yearly records since 2022.
We expressed fears that the increase could discourage investment as well.
We were worried again about the proposal for a tax on foreign currency withdrawals and a 0,5 percent increase in value-added tax (VAT).
Prof Ncube listened to the feedback and dropped the royalty hike and tax on foreign currency withdrawal proposals. He was, however, adamant about his VAT plan.
It is pleasing that interest groups, including the Chamber of Mines, stepped up to present their concerns, which we shared, over the royalty threshold. Mr Isaac Kwesu, the chamber’s CEO, made a strong presentation during a recent post-budget seminar in Harare.
The opposition stepped up as well, especially Messrs Charlton Hwende and Edwin Mushoriwa in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
But the debate started during pre-budget seminars that were held in various parts of the country. Led by selected legislators, the meetings granted the public a platform to make contributions on what they wanted included in the budget and what they did not want.
Authorities listened and made adjustments where necessary, turning down other proposals while giving valid explanations on the reasons why.
This, like other budgets before it, is really a product of the people. The process gave the people an opportunity to contribute, and legislators played their part too. Because everyone was on board from the budget formulation stage to the post-budget stage, we all proudly take ownership of the final product.
We urge the Government to continue with its people-centred, consultative and inclusive leadership style, not just on national budgets but on many other national priorities as well.
At the same time, we encourage the people to continue playing their part, making contributions on how they want to be governed, projects they want implemented and who they want to govern them, etcetera.
