Govt spends K8.8 billion in March, debt servicing takes K2.5 billion; wages, K4 billion

The Ministry of Finance and National Development released K8.8 billion to finance public service delivery in March, as government cautions public officials managing public funds to exercise prudence and comply with the guidelines.

Out of the money released, K2.5 billion was spent on debt service for both domestic and external, while the public service wage bill consumed K4 billion.

According to the report released on Sunday, about K575.6 million went towards transfers and social benefits, K1.2 billion to implementation of various government programmes and general operations, while K507.9 million was spent on capital expenditure programmes.

Reflecting on budget implementation, Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, cautioned public officials charged with the responsibility of managing public funds to exercise prudence and comply with the relevant laws, regulations and guidelines.

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“I remind all Heads of Public Institutions and other government establishments that public funds allocated to their institutions and departments are for facilitating service provision and should be utilised for intended purposes, only.

“Any abuse or mismanagement of funds will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions,” Musokotwane warned.

Musokotwane urged all controlling officers to ensure that action was taken against all officers who committed financial misconduct, without exception.

“Where responsible officers are in doubt of the appropriate procedure to follow or where there are no clear guidelines of how particular financial matters should be handled, guidance should be sought from the Directorate of Finance in various ministries, provinces and agencies, or the Treasury,” he said.

The Minister called upon all oversight institutions to conduct appropriate reviews and ensure that funds released by the Treasury were managed in accordance with the laid down guidelines and utilised for the intended purpose.

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