By PRISCA LUMINGU & SIMON MUNTEMBA
THE figures in the 2022 national budget which was presented by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane are at variance with the yellow book contents, former Minister of Transport and Communications Mutotwe Kafwaya has said.
Mr Kafwaya, who is PF Lunte Member of Parliament, told Parliament yesterday that the yellow book had figures which were totally different from what Dr Musokotwane presented in his speech when he unveiled the 2022 national budget.
Mr Kafwaya said the actual amount in the budget speech was far below the inserted total in the yellow book.
He explained later that contrary to Dr Musokotwane’s budget speech where he said the Ministry of Defense was allocated K 7,634, 515, 965 in the yellow book the allocated amount showed K 5,517,378, 021.
He also cited inconsistency in budget figures with regards to the Ministry of Health where the Finance minister indicated K 13,911, 599,575 when the yellow book showed K 12, 416, 098, 313 as the actual allocated budget.
He also said the yellow book showed K 14, 173, 396,102 as the total budget allocated to the Ministry of Education contrary to the K 18, 073, 367, 991 that the minister presented when he unveiled the 2022 national budget.
“When I debated the budget, I indicated that it was not balancing and we were informed to wait for the yellow book. However, this yellow book has established a worse situation than what was established by the Minister of Finance when he was delivering the budget speech.
“This yellow book has numbers which are nowhere in the minister’s speech. I think that it is important for government to be serious and provide accurate information which is credible so that the Zambian people can have the benefit of having a government in place,” he said.
