In line with the plea by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development- Dr. Thapelo Matsheka, the Minister of Transport and Communications- Mr. Thulaganyo Segokgo has pledged to do more with less. However, his pledge is not convincing.
“Mr. Chairman, I believe that it is worth stating that my Ministry is striving to do more with less, especially when it comes to project implementation. The Covid 19 Pandemic has made life a little more difficult for both of our sectors in general. The Ministry continues to strive to find sustainable solutions that can assist in creating a resilient, innovative and transformative economy. ” The Minister said while presenting his Ministry’s budget before the commitee of supply yesterday.
According to the Minister, his Ministry was allocated roughly Three point Five billion pula (P3.5 billion) last year during a similar time as this year. This year the Minister requests about a hundred million pula (P100 million) more than last year. If approved, the Ministry of Transport and Communications will be given approximately Three point six billion pula (P3.6 billion). The Three point Five billion pula (P3.5 billion) was the budget before it got increased to about Three point seven billion pula (P3.7 billion) during the Mid-term review.
“During the approval of the Mid-Term Review of NDP 11 in the current financial year, the Development Budget was increased by P 150,000,000 (one hundred and fifty million pula ) to kick start the implementation of projects which were introduced under the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan. As a result, the revised budget for my Ministry was therefore P 3, 707,485,340 (Three Billion, Seven Hundred and Seven Million, Four Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand, and Three Hundred and Forty Pula).” he revealed.
The budget was therefore made up of about One point eight billion pula (P1.8 billion) recurrent budget, and roughly One point six billion pula (P1.6 billion) development budget. Of the recurrent budget, ninety-five percent (95%)- One point seven billion pula (P1.7 billion) has already been used. On the other hand, only sixty-four percent (64%) of the development budget has been utilized- that accounts for roughly One point one billion pula (P1.1 billion)
The money that the Minister is requesting is roughly hundred million pula (P100 million) less than last year’s budget after the Mid-term review. However, looking through history, if approved as is, the budget for 2021/2022 after Mid-term review, might surpass the overall 2020/2021 budget. Are we really doing more with less or it is just business as usual?
