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- Feb 26, 2008
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Inside Mkulo`s hefty budget
Staff Writer
As Tanzanians enthusiastically await the tabling of the 2009/10 budget amid the deepening global economic crisis, hopes may already be dampening, as even with a 32 percent increase in the budget, the government has still allocated only peanuts to development expenditure, The Guardian on Sunday has established.
However, in education there will be a relief as the sector receives about Sh1.74trillion-a 24percent increment compared to last years allotment.
Since he took over as president in 2005, Jakaya Kikwete has nearly doubled the education funding which in 2006 fetched Sh777.2 billion, although the main challenge is how much of that amount really goes to the targeted people.
With teachers several times threatening to strike due to the governments failure to settle their pending dues on time, as well as the growing pressure from university students who want the government to give them full loans, the increment in education budget during 2009/10 could ease the looming threats.
But, according to the latest budget details from Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulos office, even though this years budget of Sh9.51trn ($7.3bn) marks a 32 percent increase from last years budget, only 29 percent of the budget will be devoted to development, a four percent cut from last years allotment.
In 2008/09 the government tabled a Sh7.2trn budget, with Sh2.4trn, or 33percent, allocated for development expenditure, which covers infrastructure projects, poverty reduction measures and investment in human resource development areas like education.
Even with this years massive Sh9.51trn budget, only Sh2.2trn has been allocated for development expenditure, marking a decrease not only in the portion of the budget that development takes up, but also in the actual value of that portion.
As the government cuts down on development expenditure, it has noticeably upped its recurrent expenditure, by Sh1.99trn to Sh6.69trn - or 42 percent of the budget.
While development expenditure is exclusive to funding projects on the ground, recurrent expenditure is used for government operational costs, which can range from government salaries to ministries individual budgets.
The new budget demonstrates that the tactics with which the government has pledged to deal with the countrys pervasive poverty, crumbling infrastructure and widespread unemployment may not reflect the priorities it has chosen to highlight in practice.
Since President Kikwete took over as the fourth president in December 2005 his government has struggled to make good on promises made during the campaign period, including the blanket slogan A better life for all Tanzanians.
Between 2006 and 2008, Kikwetes government has allocated an average of 34 percent of its budget to development expenditure, making this years budget the lowest allocation for development percentage-wise throughout Kikwetes term in office.
In 2006/07, the government presented a Sh4.8trn budget with 1.7trn, or 35 percent, going toward development expenditure. In 2007/08, the countrys budget was Sh6.067trn, of which Sh2.2trn or 36 percent was allocated for development expenditure.
Mkulo has described the new budget as the agriculture first budget indicating that it would give priority to the sector that has suffered most from the global recession.
A section of MPs, including those from the ruling party, have already threatened to block this years budget because they say Mkulo and other top officials have unfairly allocated resources for developing their home districts and because they say the budget is not development-oriented enough overall.
Another looming hitch for Mkulos budget will be how to draw in the anticipated Sh5.1trn in domestic revenue, which will make up 16.4 percent of the countrys Gross Domestic Product.
With the Tanzania Revenue Authority reporting a sharp fall in tax collection due to the worsening global crisis, it is not clear how the finance minister will manage to collect the Sh5.1trn he is counting on for the budget.
Import and export business has declined dramatically by 40 percent over the past six months due to the ongoing global credit crunch. The situation has reduced the governments targeted revenues of Sh4.73trn by over 10percent.
GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
Staff Writer
As Tanzanians enthusiastically await the tabling of the 2009/10 budget amid the deepening global economic crisis, hopes may already be dampening, as even with a 32 percent increase in the budget, the government has still allocated only peanuts to development expenditure, The Guardian on Sunday has established.
However, in education there will be a relief as the sector receives about Sh1.74trillion-a 24percent increment compared to last years allotment.
Since he took over as president in 2005, Jakaya Kikwete has nearly doubled the education funding which in 2006 fetched Sh777.2 billion, although the main challenge is how much of that amount really goes to the targeted people.
With teachers several times threatening to strike due to the governments failure to settle their pending dues on time, as well as the growing pressure from university students who want the government to give them full loans, the increment in education budget during 2009/10 could ease the looming threats.
But, according to the latest budget details from Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulos office, even though this years budget of Sh9.51trn ($7.3bn) marks a 32 percent increase from last years budget, only 29 percent of the budget will be devoted to development, a four percent cut from last years allotment.
In 2008/09 the government tabled a Sh7.2trn budget, with Sh2.4trn, or 33percent, allocated for development expenditure, which covers infrastructure projects, poverty reduction measures and investment in human resource development areas like education.
Even with this years massive Sh9.51trn budget, only Sh2.2trn has been allocated for development expenditure, marking a decrease not only in the portion of the budget that development takes up, but also in the actual value of that portion.
As the government cuts down on development expenditure, it has noticeably upped its recurrent expenditure, by Sh1.99trn to Sh6.69trn - or 42 percent of the budget.
While development expenditure is exclusive to funding projects on the ground, recurrent expenditure is used for government operational costs, which can range from government salaries to ministries individual budgets.
The new budget demonstrates that the tactics with which the government has pledged to deal with the countrys pervasive poverty, crumbling infrastructure and widespread unemployment may not reflect the priorities it has chosen to highlight in practice.
Since President Kikwete took over as the fourth president in December 2005 his government has struggled to make good on promises made during the campaign period, including the blanket slogan A better life for all Tanzanians.
Between 2006 and 2008, Kikwetes government has allocated an average of 34 percent of its budget to development expenditure, making this years budget the lowest allocation for development percentage-wise throughout Kikwetes term in office.
In 2006/07, the government presented a Sh4.8trn budget with 1.7trn, or 35 percent, going toward development expenditure. In 2007/08, the countrys budget was Sh6.067trn, of which Sh2.2trn or 36 percent was allocated for development expenditure.
Mkulo has described the new budget as the agriculture first budget indicating that it would give priority to the sector that has suffered most from the global recession.
A section of MPs, including those from the ruling party, have already threatened to block this years budget because they say Mkulo and other top officials have unfairly allocated resources for developing their home districts and because they say the budget is not development-oriented enough overall.
Another looming hitch for Mkulos budget will be how to draw in the anticipated Sh5.1trn in domestic revenue, which will make up 16.4 percent of the countrys Gross Domestic Product.
With the Tanzania Revenue Authority reporting a sharp fall in tax collection due to the worsening global crisis, it is not clear how the finance minister will manage to collect the Sh5.1trn he is counting on for the budget.
Import and export business has declined dramatically by 40 percent over the past six months due to the ongoing global credit crunch. The situation has reduced the governments targeted revenues of Sh4.73trn by over 10percent.
GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY