adminThe public hearings, which have already started in other parts of the country including Beitbridge in Matabeleland South, are being held in conjunction with Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust ahead of the forthcoming national budget presentation mid-next month.
In Matabeleland, the team conducting the public hearings will this morning meet stakeholders in Bulawayo at the Small City Hall before proceeding to Gwanda Club for a similar forum in the afternoon.
Tomorrow, the team expects to meet the public at Lupane Community Hall before winding the exercise in the region at Chinotimba Hall in Victoria Falls on Friday.
The public hearings are being conducted in terms of Section 28 (5) of the Public Finance Management Act.
The Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust executive director Mr John Makamure said the recently initiated national budget and public finance reforms were meant to improve the lives of the citizens.
“Given the fact that the national budget is a vital economic policy instrument which government uses to achieve its social and economic objectives, it is therefore, a fundamental tool in the implementation of public policy and a more telling indicator of the priority accorded to fighting poverty, unemployment and inequity in any country.
“In recent times the participation of stakeholders, especially parliamentarians, civil society organisations and the public in the budget process is increasingly being viewed as an important tool for reducing poverty, improving budget transparency and social accountability,” he said.
The public hearings are aimed at ensuring that people give Parliament adequate information before the Minister of Finance presents the fiscal statement.
It is hoped that the 2013 national fiscal policy statement would focus on policies that stimulate economic growth.
An economic commentator Mr Peter Mhaka said: “In light of the economic stagnation, it is of great significance for the budget to be anchored on policies that stimulate economic growth.
“In the 2012 mid-term national budget review, the Finance Minister (Tendai Biti) had to revise downwards economic growth projections citing depressed revenue inflows largely due to the underperformance of diamond sales. It is our expectation that the 2013 national budget should be premised on driving economic growth.”
In a commentary, AfrAsia Kingdom said Minister Biti faced a mammoth task as not all expectations will be met.
“All stakeholders will be looking forward to policies that will stimulate economic growth in the wake of weakening macroeconomic factors, as well as policies that will address the liquidity situation.
“Investors on the equities market have faced the wrath of the market since 2010, in the form of negative returns and market illiquidity.
“The Minister of Finance cannot surely be expected to guarantee positive returns on stock market investments but there are areas where fiscal policy could work in favour of investors,” said the financial institution.
Online Reporter