Public Consultations on The 2018 National Budget

PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS ON THE 2018 NATIONAL BUDGET

It is that time of the year again when Parliament engages the public to get their views on the ensuing year’s budget. The consultations are meant to provide the citizens of this country an opportunity to say what they feel should be the priorities for the following year’s budget. The consultations are a feature that Parliament introduced as part of the reforms meant to involve the public in issues that affect them. The practice has since been codified in the Constitution in Section 141 and the Public Finance Management Act Section 28 (5).

I know for a lot of citizens the question is whether their views are seriously taken into account. My answer is an emphatic yes. Perhaps let me indicate that like in all consultations the Portfolio Committees will receive a lot of input from the public. Some of the input will definitely be contradictory depending on who is making the submissions. This is as it should be as there are various interests amongst the participants at the hearings. The Committees will then sift through all the submissions and make recommendations to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development at the Pre-Budget Seminar held well in advance of Budget presentation. In my Blog article dated 28 February I went to great lengths to show how Parliament, through its Committees, had managed to influence the 2017 Budget. Indeed, all this was all down to the extensive consultations that had been carried out by the various Committees of Parliament.

It is in this vein that we are once again appealing to the citizens of Zimbabwe to have their voices heard in the 2018 Budget. Below I attach the schedule of the Public Hearings by the Portfolio Committee on Finance and Economic Development.

PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS

2018 NATIONAL BUDGET CONSULTATIONS BY THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Team A

Date	Place	Venue	Time of Public Hearing
2 October 2017	Kariba Chinhoyi	Nyaminyami RDC Boardroom, Siakobvu   Cooksey Memorial Hall	0900hrs 1400hrs
3 October 2017	Bindura Mt Darwin	HALA Africa Hotel Mt Darwin Sports Club	0900hrs 1400hrs
4 October 2017	Harare Chivhu	Holiday Inn Hotel Chivhu Jubilee Hall	0900hrs 1400hrs
5 October 2017	Marondera	Hope/Fay Hotel and Conference Centre	0900hrs
6 October 2017	Nyanga Mutare	Nyanga Rural District Council Offices Mutare Holiday Inn Hotel	0900hrs 1400hrs

Team B

Date	Place	Venue	Time of Public Hearing
2 October 2017	Gweru Zvishavane	Fairmile Hotel Zvishavane Council Offices	0900hrs 1400hrs
3 October 2017	Gutu Masvingo	Gutu Council Offices Flamboyant Hotel	0900hrs 1400hrs
4 October 2017	Beitbridge Gwanda	Peter’s Motel Gwanda Hotel	0900hrs 1400hrs
5 October 2017	Bulawayo Lupane	Holiday Inn Hotel Lupane Council Hall	0900hrs 1400hrs
6 October 2017	Victoria Falls	Chinotimba Hall	0900hrs

 

ALL THOSE WHO WILL BE PUTTING ON MILITARY UNIFORMS, SIGNS OF RANKS, FLAGS OR BADGES AND POLITICAL PARTY REGALIA WILL NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC HEARING.

 

The public, interested groups and organizations are invited to attend these consultations. Written submissions and correspondences are welcome and should be addressed to:

The Clerk of Parliament

Attention: Portfolio Committee on Finance and Economic Development

P.O. Box CY 298

Causeway

Harare

 

Submissions can also be made by email through email address [email protected]

Telephone: (04) 700181-8, 252936-50

Christian Ratsakatika / Mrs N. Khumalo (Committee Clerks) Ext. 2050

Linda Tanyaradzwa Manyemba / Maguire Mike Godzongere (Public Relations Officers)

Fax: (04)252935