Finance Minister Felix Mutati has unveiled the 2018 national budget proposing to spend K71.6 billion or 25.9% of GDP.
In his Budget speech to Parliament, Mr Mutati said of this amount,K49 billion or 68.5 percent of the total budget will be financed by domestic revenues and K2.4 billion or 3.4 percent by grants from various co-operating partners.
He says the balance of K20.1 billion or 28.1 percent of the budget will be financed through domestic and external borrowing.
Mr Mutati says in line with the Seventh National Development Plan, the allocations in the budget are targeted at addressing the five strategic areas of economic diversification and job creation, poverty and vulnerability reduction, reducing developmental inequalities, enhancing human development and creating a conducive governance environment for a diversified and inclusive economy.
He has proposed to spend K25.9 billion on General Public Services with K7.3 billion and K7 billion going towards external and domestic debt payments, respectively.
Mr Mutati says in the same vein, he has allocated to the Constituency Development Fund a total of K218.4 million to support projects at the community level.
He has also allocated K2.1 billion towards the maintenance of public order and safety.
He says key interventions will include the recruitment of security personnel, continued rehabilitation and construction of infrastructure and the modernisation of operations of law enforcement agencies.
And Mr Mutati has proposed to spend I propose to spend K11.6 billion on education and skills development.
He says this will facilitate spending on, among others, infrastructure development, student loans, teacher recruitment and procurement of school requisites.
Mr. Mutati has also proposed to spend K6.8 billion on health of which K1.2 billion is for procurement of essential drugs and medical supplies representing a 56 percent increase over the 2017 allocation.
He says the balance will be used to finance health infrastructure, medical equipment and staff costs including the including the recruitment of medical personnel.
The Minister has also proposed to discontinue the 5-year income tax holidays that is facilitated through the Zambia Development Agency.
He says in place of the tax holiday, he proposes to grant accelerated depreciation for capital expenditures by qualifying investments in priority sectors.
He has also proposed to introduce an excise duty of K2 per 50 Kg bag of cement.
Mr Mutati has further proposed to increase TV levy to K5 from the current K3.
He has also proposed to Introduce a landing rights charge at the rate of K3, 150 per television channel which has less than 35 percent local content except for educational and scientific channels.
Mr Mutati has also proposed to introduce property transfer tax at 5 percent on the transfer of intellectual property.
tell Lungu to lessen up those travellings, it is not fan at all
I am 27 and trust me I am NOT young
He is the GREATEST Finance President these shores have ever know
The currency is strongest in 7 years , Influx of foreign investments, Monumental infrastructure investments, jobs after jobs
It would be folly change this winning formula from top to bottom
Thanks
BB2014,2016
* meant minister – oops
I have a PhD
Thanks
BB2014,2016
Never trust a man who smokes and smiles
The budget looks like my monthly budget:
68% Financed through salary;
4% Financed by my relatives
28% Financed by loan sharks and banks
Spent like this
Car and Mortgage 38%
Food 30%
School and medical bills 7%
Entertainment 20%
Savings and investments 3%
Miscellaneous 2%
A very progresive budget by PF Govnt!!2017 has been a promising year and we now hope that in 2018 our economy shall boom like during Levy Mwanawasa and RB’s regime.we need a lot of money in circulation like during the period i have mentioned!!
Keep it up Hon.Felix Mutati and Bravo to ECL for giving us hope!!the opposition parties who wish our country hell can hung!!
NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ZAMBIA SHALL PROSPER!!WE ARE ONE ZAMBIA,ONE NATION!!
Come 2021 ni PF nafuti nafuti!!
I do appreciate pf gvt and ecl for his failure. the more we suffer Zambian the more we struggle for our freedom.
Those who complain will remain.
@Name:upnd;you must also tell HH to relax in Lusaka than always promoting tribal1sm at tonga traditional ceremonies in southern province.last saturday he was at the mukuni ceremony,tomorrow HH will be in Monze at Gonde ceremony,WHY CANT HE JUST SEND GBM AND MUTALE NALUMANGO THERE?ENOUGH FOR KAINDE AND HIS TRIBAL1SM!!
yes ECL has to reduce on his foreign trips its too much as he cant be spending 1 or 2 days in Zambia and on a third or 4th day he is abroad-No!!we blamed RB for this before 2011 so ECL must not fall into RB’s trap on this score!!BY SAYING THIS,AM NOT IN ANYWAY TRYING TO SAY I NOW HATE PF OR ECL-BIG NO!!BUT SIMPLY ADVISING MY PRESIDENT TO REDUCE ON THOSE FOREIGN TRIPS!!
2018’s budget is very promising!!
THIS IS NJIMBU- BB 2017!!!
You *****. HH is not using government resources and neither is he head of state
Where is the mention of the cost of Lungu de Gamas travels in the budget? Mutati is being economical with the truth!
But the real killer is now coming out. 20 percent of the budget is now just to pay off internal and external BORROWINGS! And most of this huge debt that the PF have incurred is not even due for repayment yet!
What percent is it going to be in 2020? Will it be 50%, 60% 80% of the National budget? Mutati must come clean on this, other wise in 2021 ALL DEVELOPMENT and GOVERNMENT BUSINESS will STOP because the WHOLE BUDGET will have to be used JUTS TO PAY OFF THE KALOBA THESE PF THIEVES HAVE BORROWED — AND STOLEN !!!!
TALL MBER KNOW CALL!
THANKS
Njimbu is competing with Mushota for best BBJ 2017?
HH DOES NOT USE GOVERNMENT MONEY FOR HIS TRIPS.
Now when you increase the Tax on satellite tv providers that bill is only to be carried onto the end user? Why is Mutati doing this kanshi? Cement- that K2 he is talking about will end up as an increment of K10 to the end user by the time it passes through the supply chain. Increasing the Tv license fee doesn’t make sense when Dead NBC is just a Tradekings advertising station 24-7, they advertise up to 10 times during news, let’s be serious with life people! We are curse for sure to have the likes of Mutati as the Minister of Finance!
But why did Zambia police arrest the innocent protesters? Professionalism is lacking under Kanganja’s leadership of ZP.
Not too far back you banned the opposition gatherings and the President scolded you. Grow up and be professional Kanganja
Easy way to understand mutatinomics:
He projects to earn $4,9 billion
He projects to spend $7 billion
The shortfall of $2,1 billion he will borrow.
This is called “budgeting”‘???
Well analysed!
Begging bowl economics. Nothing progressive about the budget.
You have not shown prudence in using the little money you already have.
We won’t stop talking about the $42 fire tender plunder…
Angola’s budget is $54bn ,Kenya’s budget is $26bn ,Magufuli’s budget is $14bnand our ka-small budget is only $7.2bn.That means Zambia is sleeping in class and Captain Lungu is steering us ineffectively.
So, you want ECL to turn the budget to $30 billion overnight?
It’s just in the DNA to borrow. Even things you can create yourselves you want others to do it for you…….especially to import anything as long as it is made outside Zambia. even Mangoes and Pineapples which are plentiful in zambia, you prefer imported ones…….WHY only god knows!
Lets go ba mutati, am motivated to think big as an employer…thinking of expanding as a youth.
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Please, Kindly Support Kagame Paul, #BringBackOurMoney Campaign!
I see Zambians getting taxed to death by 2021! It’s more of the same rhetorical budget speech. No tax relief to the poor worker and the business person. If we truly have gone DIGITAL, why do we still have TV levy? We have heard nothing about fair taxation of mines and industries. Why do mines and Industry in general still contribute less than the total PAYE in taxes? Anyway, it is a classic Dununa Reverse budget. May the inhabitants of Zed continue wallowing in their miserable sewer existence!
This is terrible…I am so embarrassed to say that I am from Zambia….all this borrowing….and the golden brown teeth can’t reduce the traveling everywhere.
UP.NDonkeys, Hon Mutati has given you something to think about?
Dununa Dununa iyeeee. Aye Dununa iyeeee DUNUNA REGRET. PA ZEDI BOLA NAIKOSA. Making a budget on the money you don’t have and you proudly say you will borrow? ATASE!!!!!!!!!!
It takes more thsn s budget to develop a country. Year in year out since 1964 we have had the so called best budgetd yet our country is on the msrgin
The tv levy will go to znbc, oops sorry the tv levy will go to th chinese, they get the revenue from znbc for 25 years.
If you give up the tax incentive for investorts andvthennsay it isvreplaced by accelerated depreciation what have u achieved…. they didnt pay tax for 5 years so no depreciation claims, now no grace period they will start claiming immediately and at a greater as their capital will classed as new and haveca higher value.
What will happen with pledged investment based on the 5 years tax free period..welcome to Zambabwia
Excise tax on cement this will increase the cost of all airport , toll gates, highways, mining works, housing, construction has the extra costs , borrowings and repayments been factored into this budget…dont see it anywhere.
We want diversity into industrialization and tourism yet we decrease the incentives for investment then increase the costs of one of the most basic commodities used in building factories, lodges, hotels and airports. We voted for them
Increasing TV levy to K5 from K3, the country is moving to digital systems and we shall be paying for watching TV. Why paying double? this is stealing. Toll fees is charged per 100km and still we are paying another tax called road tax. May this government please remove some taxes which we are charged twice, this proper stealing.
Where is the part for the PAYE in this budget?
They have removed the K255 relief from the gross pay which means your taxable pay will be the same as your gross pay making your tax higher. For example in the old system, if your gross pay was K5000 and you contribute to NAPSA, then your taxable pay will be (K5000 – K255) K4,745. Now that this relief has been removed, your taxable pay is now K5,000 hence the tax you pay is higher. So generally this is an increase on the taxation on employees.
How much of this money will be stolen and or end up on some PF minister’s building project. How much in this budget has been allocated for ZP to guard Lungu’s construction sites dotted around Lusaka?
The ‘President of finance ‘ sorry minister of finance should say there is no money allocated for ZP to guard Lungu’s construction sites .
This budget can best be summed up as follows:
MORE TAXES, NO JOBS AND LESS MONEY IN PEOPLE’S POCKETS……
Anything on payer tax?
I mean pay as you earn tax?