National Budget: Repeating same old story over and over

little he could do with limited financial resources. 
As we have stated before, there is need to broaden the resource base to create a bigger cake for all to share.
There are problems in mining, manufacturing, agriculture, the financial services sector, construction, infrastructure development and many other areas and they all pinned their hopes on the Finance Ministry.
On the political front, everyone wanted to hear what Treasury had set aside for the referendum on the new constitution and ultimately harmonised elections next year.
Minister Biti appeared non-committal to the extent that he set aside only US$50 million, way below the expected US$300 million required for both processes.
This left many questioning the sincerity of the Finance Minister in going to the polls with such limited resources. 
It leaves one to only but speculate that he has a plan to get external funding for the polls, a development that threatens the efficacy of our electoral democracy.
Another aspect of the budget that left the populace wondering is the agricultural sector rehabilitation initiative that should anchor the broader economic recovery process. 
Over the four years that Minister Biti has superintended the budgetary process, there seems to have been very little commitment to enhance the country’s agricultural production potential. 
Unlike the manufacturing sector that requires huge capital outlays to revamp, the agriculture sector only requires the requisite inputs and a good season to turn around the fortunes. 
A deliberate policy dedicated to uplifting agriculture will have a ripple effect on the other sectors of the economy.
While mining continues to be the biggest prospect for Zimbabwe under the current settings, there is a worrying trend of focusing on only one commodity — Marange diamonds. 
Could this be isolated as the only revenue centre in a well resourced country like ours? 
Surely we could reap much more if we could spread the efforts and energy to all the minerals mined in this country.
At the risk of labelling it a damp squib, we feel that Minister Biti should weigh his priorities and afford critical issues the priority that they deserve and in so doing endear himself with the populace at large as they have all their hopes pinned on him.
It is commendable that he has taken the workers’ interests at heart by first broadening the bonus tax threshold to US$1 000 and reviewing civil servants’ salaries. 
But how many are earning four-figure salaries in this economy? 
Naturally this is not a relief for all the workers and only comes but once in a year and some do not even get it.
There is an increasing need to address bread and butter issues that affect the ordinary workers, policies that create jobs and thus increase livelihoods.
Gone are the days when we waited with bated breath that a budget would spell out the way forward for the coming year. Instead it is all doom and gloom.
Nowadays, one would be forgiven to take it as a non-event with very little to talk about. 
This should not be considering the budget consultative process that Treasury undertook, and despite the minister’s assurances that their interests were accommodated, there is very little to show for it.
It is our hope that when all is said and done, we will be able to get to a point where we will sit and commiserate over a people’s budget that has taken in the interests of all concerned barring the limited fiscal space that is often cited.
In the absence of real commitment to broaden the resource base, the 2013 budget will only be about allocating the scarce resources that are a far cry from the people’s expectations.
Ministries are allocated resources that they never get and projects are talked about without any movement on the ground. It is like the same old story over and over again.
There is no limit to imagination and we can rattle on about projections and the Promised Land, but it all begins with practical steps to address the glaring shortcomings in our midst.