Introduction
At
the
end
of
last
month
the
Minister
of
Finance,
Economic
Development
and
Investment
Promotion
presented
the
2025
national
budget
statement
in
the
National
Assembly. He
did
this
in
accordance
with
section
305(1)
of
the
Constitution,
which
states:
“(1) Every
year
the
Minister
responsible
for
finance
must
present
to
the
National
Assembly
a
statement
of
the
revenues
and
expenditures
of
the
Government
in
the
next
financial
year.”
When
the
Minister
presented
his
budget
statement
he
tabled
supporting
documents,
namely
estimates
of
revenue
and
expenditure
and
a
public
debt
report. Then
last
Friday
a
Finance
Bill
and
an
Appropriation
Bill
were
published
in
the
Gazette.
We
shall
explain
what
these
documents
are
in
this
bulletin.
The
budget
statement
This
statement
sets
out
among
other
things
the
economic
and
political
environment
in
which
the
budget
is
being
presented
and
explains
the
assumptions
that
underpin
the
budget. The
statement
also
looks
at
the
future
outlook
in
terms
of
economic
growth
and
the
overall
amounts
that
are
to
be
allocated
or
appropriated
to
Ministries,
departments,
agencies,
commissions
and
other
national
institutions.
The
budget
statement
delivered
by
the
Minister
on
the
28th
November
can
be
accessed
on
the
Veritas
website [link].
The
estimates
of
revenue
and
expenditure
The
estimates
set
out
in
detail
the
Government’s
estimated
revenues
and
expenditures
for
the
coming
year,
indicating
the
specific
sectors
from
which
the
revenues
will
come
and
the
proposed
expenditure
of
each
Ministry,
department
and
agency.
Before
the
days
of
computers,
the
estimates
were
printed
in
a
book
with
a
blue
paper
cover; hence
they
are
colloquially
called
“the
blue
book”.
The
estimates
tabled
by
the
Minister
last
month
can
be
accessed
on
the
Veritas
website [link].
Debt
Statement
Section
300(4)(b)
of
the
Constitution
compels
the
Minister
of
Finance
to
take
Parliament
into
his
confidence
about
the
national
debt. The
section
reads:
“(4) The
Minister
responsible
for
finance
must—
…
(b)
at
the
same
time
as
estimates
of
revenue
and
expenditure
are
laid
before
the
National
Assembly
in
terms
of
section
305,
table
in
Parliament
a
comprehensive
statement
of
the
public
debt
of
Zimbabwe.”
The
statement
must
be
“comprehensive”,
meaning
it
should
be
complete
and
detailed. It
should
contain
the
following
details:
the
names
of
all
lenders
and
the
full
amounts
they
have
lent,
the
rate
of
interest
payable
on
each
of
their
loans,
and
the
extent
to
which
the
State
is
in
arrears
in
making
repayments. In
other
words,
the
statement
should
explain
the
country’s
debt
performance
in
sufficient
detail
to
keep
the
National
Assembly
fully
abreast
of
the
country’s
indebtedness.
Readers
can
assess
the
accuracy
and
completeness
of
this
year’s
statement
by
accessing
it
on
the
Veritas
website [link].
It
shows
that
as
of
the
30th
September
2024
Zimbabwe’s
public
debt
and
publicly
guaranteed
debt
amounted
to
US
$21,1
billion.
A
significant
portion
of
this
–
US
$12,3
billion
–
is
foreign
and
the
rest
is
domestic.
Appropriation
Bill
This
Bill
sets
out
the
total
amount
of
money
appropriated,
or
allocated,
to
each
government
Ministry
and
department
and
other
institution. The
Bill
is
mandated
by
section
305(4)
of
the
Constitution,
which
reads:
“(4) When
the
National
Assembly
has
approved
the
estimates
of
expenditure
for
a
financial
year,
…
the
Minister
responsible
for
finance
must
cause
a
Bill
to
be
known
as
Appropriation
Bill
to
be
introduced
into
the
National
Assembly,
and
that
Bill
must—
(a)
provide
for
money
to
be
issued
from
the
Consolidated
Revenue
Fund
to
meet
the
approved
expenditure; and
(b)
appropriate
money
to
the
purposes
specified
in
the
estimates,
under
separate
votes
for
the
different
heads
of
expenditure
that
have
been
approved.”
The
Appropriation
Bill
is
brought
up
in
the
National
Assembly
as
soon
as
the
estimates
have
been
approved
by
the
Committee
of
Supply. The
various
readings
of
the
Bill
are
expedited
in
terms
of
S.O.
125
of
the
Assembly’s
Standing
Orders.
The
Appropriation
Bill
for
next
year
was
published
in
last
Friday’s
Gazette
and
can
be
accessed
on
the
Veritas
website [link].
Finance
Bill
This
Bill
sets
out,
in
legal
form,
how
the
Government
is
going
to
raise
the
revenue
needed
to
meet
its
projected
expenditure
in
the
coming
year. Most
government
revenue
is
raised
through
taxes
and
duties
of
various
kinds,
so
Finance
Bills
amend
taxing
statutes
–
the
Income
Tax
Act
and
the
Value
Added
Tax
Act,
for
example
–
to
increase
and
adjust
taxes
in
order
to
raise
the
necessary
revenue. Finance
Bills
must,
according
to
Constitution,
be
confined
to
taxation
and
the
raising
of
revenue
–
see Economic
Governance
Watch
1/2024 [link] –
but
in
recent
years
they
have
contained
clauses
on
a
wide
variety
of
other
matters.
A
departmental
draft
of
the
Bill
is
often
published
as
soon
as
the
Minister
has
delivered
his
budget
statement,
but
even
if
it
isn’t
the
Bill
itself
should
be
published
in
time
for
it
be
passed
by
the
National
Assembly
together
with
the
Appropriation
Bill.
The
current
Finance
Bill
was
published
in
the
Gazette
together
with
the
Appropriation
Bill
and
it
can
be
accessed
on
the
Veritas
website [link].
It
proposes
the
following
new
taxes:
-
Rental
Income
Tax:
Properties
converted
from
residential
to
business
use
will
attract
a
25
per
cent
tax
on
their
rental
income.
-
Betting
Tax:
A
10
per
cent
withholding
tax
on
gross
winnings
of
sports
betting
punters,
effective
from
the
1st
January,
2025.
-
Fast
Foods
Tax:
A
0.5
per
cent
tax
on
the
sales
value
of
fast
food
items
like
pizzas,
burgers
and
French
fries,
effective
from
the
1st
January,
2025.
-
Plastic
Carrier
Bag
Tax:
A
20
per
cent
tax
on
the
sale
value
of
plastic
carrier
bags,
to
promote
biodegradable
alternatives.
These
last
two
taxes
in
particular
are
directed
less
at
increasing
State
revenues
and
more
at
achieving
socially
beneficial
results
such
as
encouraging
people
to
eat
healthy
foods
rather
than
fast
foods
and
promoting
biodegradable
bags
over
plastic
bags.
Conclusion
The
above-mentioned
statements
or
documents
are
what
makes
up
the
national
budget.
It
should
be
noted
that
the
National
Assembly
has
the
power
to
approve,
amend
or
reject
the
Minister’s
proposals
during
debate. This
seldom
happens,
however,
partly
because
of
time
constraints
imposed
by
the
Assembly’s
Standing
Orders.
The
2025
budget
is
currently
under
debate
in
National
Assembly
and
technically
the
budget
should
be
passed
before
the
end
of
January
2025.
Veritas
makes
every
effort
to
ensure
reliable
information,
but
cannot
take
legal
responsibility
for
information
supplied.
Post
published
in:
Featured
Kathryn
Chris
