04 Feb 2019

The proposed recurrent budget for next financial amounts to P46.99 billion, a 4.1 per cent increase over the revised 2018/19 budget.

Presenting the 2019/20 budget proposals in Parliament yesterday, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Mr Kenneth Matambo said the increase was primarily due to adjustment of salaries and allowances by 3 per cent in 2018 as well as funding for the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital, scheduled to start operating this year.  

Minister Matambo said P33.69 billion, which translated into 71.7 per cent of the total recurrent budget,  would be allocated to  five ministries.

The five comprise Basic Education with P8.24 bn or 17.5 per cent; Health and Wellness at P7.63 bn or 16.2 per cent; Defence, Justice and Security at P6.86 bn or 14.6 per cent; Local Government and Rural Development at P6.43 bn or 13.7 per cent and that of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology at P4.54 bn or 9.7 percent.

He said the balance of P13.30 bn or 28.3 per cent would go to the remaining ministries and independent departments.

Regarding the proposed allocation for the Ministry of Basic Education, Mr Matambo said it would cater for the ongoing investment in human capital development.

The expenditure items include payment of teachers’ salaries and allowances, maintenance of existing facilities, provision of textbooks, food supplies, stationery, payment of utilities and replacement of furniture and equipment in schools.

He said the second largest share of the budget, earmarked for the Ministry of Health and Wellness, would cater primarily for the provision of drugs, dressings and vaccines, replacement of medical and surgical equipment, anti-retroviral therapy, including the Treat All Strategy as well as the running costs of the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital.

Mr Matambo said the allocation for the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security would mainly cover the running costs of the Botswana Defence Force, Botswana Police Service and Prisons and Rehabilitation Services as well as the new positions required to augment capacity at the ministry headquarters to counter money laundering threats.

As for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, he said the allocation would cater for budget transfers in the form of revenue support grants to district and urban councils, maintenance of infrastructure, social welfare schemes for the needy and the elderly, and gratuities for councilors whose term of office would be ending next financial year.

Mr Matambo said the proposed budget for the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology would cater for tertiary education bursaries and subventions to government tertiary institutions mainly University of Botswana, Botswana International University of Science and Technology and Botswana Open University.

Mr Matambo said the proposed allocation to the Ministry of Transport and Communications was intended to cater for the maintenance of roads and buildings, provision for petrol, oil and lubricants, maintenance of plant and equipment including ICT infrastructure and subventions to Civil Aviation Authority and Botswana Post.

He explained that other ministries with significant proposed allocations were that of Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration at P1.52 bn or 3.2 per cent; Agricultural Development and Food Security at P 1.34 bn or 2.8 per cent; and the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry at P1.05 bn or 2.2 per cent.

The rest of the ministries and independent departments shared the remaining portion of the ministerial recurrent budget amounting to P7.44 bn or 15.8 per cent, he said. Ends