GOVT FINANCIAL YEAR TO CHANGE

Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe has said government plans to change the financial year to the months of April and March.

Gondwe disclosed this in an interview with one of the local daily paper in the country [Nation Newspaper] during pre-budget consultations held in Mzuzu.

The past years, the country’s financial year has been running from July 1 to June 30 which according to some stakeholders argued that it affected annual procurement of agricultural inputs and government spending when it comes to electoral years.

This came to reality this year as Malawi government was forced to table Provisional budget in Parliament due to numerous challenges that locked the May 20 tripartite election.

In his speech during pre-budget consultation in Mzuzu on Saturday, Gondwe agreed to some calls by various stakeholders to change the financial year.

“Before president Bingu wa Mutharika died, we had already agreed that the financial year would start from April [1] to March [31]. But when he died, it could not be resurrected,” the minister explained.

Gondwe said the new administration under Peter Mutharika is working on the plan in order to realign the financial year with the needs of the predominantly agricultural economy.

Meanwhile the National budget for 2014-2015 which is being prepared by the newly elected government will be tabled in Parliament in September.