2014/2015 BUDGET NOT READY -MUTHARIKA

President Professor Author Peter Mutharika has disclosed that 2014/15 national budget is not ready and it will be presented in September.

Mutharika disclosed this during the opening of 45th Parliamentary deliberations in Parliament building in Lilongwe today .

“After a careful review of what has been prepared so far, we find that the 2014/2015 Budget is far from being ready. The work that has been done so far is not well developed and the proposed budgetary allocations are either illogical or conflicting with the DPP view points.

“Moreover, there are a number of issues that need to be resolved before the budget can be finalized, including consultations with the general public, the academia, private sector, civil society organizations, the Cabinet, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and donors”, said Mutharika

He added: “We also need to verify the stock of arrears before the budget is finalized. We therefore, need more time to analyze the various problems so that we can come up with a budget that is more credible”.

Mutharika further disclosed that Minister of Finance will table a provisional budget which will run from July 1 to September.

“In accordance with Section 178 of the Malawi Constitution, the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development will initially present a provisional budget for the period July October, 2014. We expect to present the 2014/2015 Budget in September, 2014 when outstanding issues will have been resolved”, said Mutharika.

Meanwhile its about 13 days before the government financial year comes to an end.