Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has challenged Members of Parliament to sharpen their budget analysis skills, saying effective scrutiny of public finances is critical as Zimbabwe grapples with limited fiscal space, rising debt obligations and growing development demands.
Addressing legislators during a Capacity Building Workshop on Public Finance Management, Budget Processes and Budget Analysis in Bulawayo, Adv Mudenda said Parliament’s role should extend beyond approving the national budget to rigorously interrogate how public resources are allocated and whether expenditure delivers tangible benefits to citizens.
“When you attain true mastery of budget analysis, you graduate from being captive recipients of budget presentations into vigilant watchdogs of the public purse,” he said.
He said MPs must be equipped to assess not only the size of budget allocations but also their impact on communities and the distribution of public resources.
“Such mastery must, above all, equip you to explain to a mother in Chipinge or a father in Hwange how the National Budget is likely to impact their livelihoods,” said Adv Mudenda.
He said stronger analytical capacity would enable legislators to determine whether allocations were adequate to improve education, healthcare and other essential public services while ensuring women, children, persons with disabilities and low-income households were not excluded from development.
The Speaker’s remarks come as Government seeks to maintain fiscal discipline while financing infrastructure development and expanding social services amid constrained public resources.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Budget Office Director, Tapiwa Gumbo said the National Development Strategy 2 envisages greater private sector participation in financing key development projects to ease pressure on the Treasury.
He said building societies and commercial banks are expected to play a larger role in financing housing delivery, while pension and insurance funds could support investment in tourism infrastructure, including hotels, conference facilities and exhibition centres.
Gumbo said diversifying financing sources would help Government preserve fiscal sustainability while accelerating the implementation of national development priorities.
