Minister of Finance, Ipumbu Shiimi, said a total of N.dollars 2.2 billion has been availed for reallocation across budget votes.
He said this when he delivered the 2021/22 Financial Year Mid-Year Budget Policy speech in Parliament on Wednesday.
“This is against total funding requests of N.dollars 7.1 billion received from offices, ministries and agencies during the review,” he said.
Shiimi proposed that the following amendments be approved; that the Development Budget ceiling be reduced on a net basis by N.dollars 279.8 million from N.dollars 5.5 billion to N.dollars 5.2 billion; and that the non-interest Operational Budget be increased by N.dollars 2.2 billion from N.dollars 53.9 billion to N.dollars 56.1 billion.
The minister proposed that statutory expenditure be reduced marginally from N.dollars 8.5 billion in the main budget to N.dollars 8.3 billion, while proposing the lifting of the global expenditure ceiling for the financial year 2021/22 from N.dollars 67.9 billion to N.dollars 69.7 billion.
He said the proposed reallocation is aimed at addressing underbudgeting on personnel expenditure utilities and other spending items across budget votes, and to meet resource shortfalls in the Ministry of Health and Social Services as a result of the third wave of COVID-19.
The top three ministries with the highest reallocation are the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, which is allocated N.dollars 400 million to cater for underbudgeting on personnel-related expenditure, the Ministry of Health and Social Services, which is also allocated N.dollars 400 million required to boost the COVID-19 response plan; and the Ministry of Works and Transport, which is allocated N.dollars 89 million, apportioned as N.dollars 47 million to cover property rentals, N.dollars 34 million for rates and taxes and N.dollars 5 million for personnel expenditure.
The ministries that received the lowest reallocation include the Ministry of Justice which was allocated N.dollars 5 million to cater for witness fees; the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, which was allocated N.dollars 1.3 million for personnel expenditure, and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, which was allocated N.dollars 4 million for anti-poaching activities.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
