Nyore Madzianike and Remember Deketeke

SEVERAL ministries, departments and agencies have called for increased budget allocations and expedited release of budgeted resources from Treasury, stating that delays are hindering progress in critical areas of the economy.

During post-budget consultative meetings at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden, the ministries, departments and agencies presented their cases before Parliamentary Portfolio Committees. The complaints are typical and especially the complaints about budget allocations are made every year.

Bureaucracy surrounding fund disbursement was cited as a significant challenge.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube presented the 2026 National Budget last week. He stressed that the Government would maintain the fiscal discipline that was driving the economy. This discipline requires almost all budgetary spending to be directly linked to incoming revenue, almost all of it from taxes, so any increase in spending would require higher taxes.

Following consultations, committee chairpersons confirmed that most ministries, departments and agencies were dissatisfied with their allocations and the pace at which funds were being released.

Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Nick Mangwana, said his ministry’s allocation was inadequate.

He said even the disbursements of the allocated funds remain a challenge.

“The ministry plays a pivotal role in ensuring communities understand national projects and identify opportunities that place money in the citizen’s pocket, hence the need for more funding so that our district officers are fully equipped with the necessary tools of trade like cell phones, cameras, and cars,” he said.

Mr Mangwana said many of the ministry’s vehicles were now over 25 years old, a situation that has made them costly and uneconomic to maintain.

“From the current Budget, we can buy only 35 vehicles. We are saying we need about 81 vehicles; that is the number of vehicles that we need with the allocation that we have,” he said.

Mr Mangwana added that although the ministry requested US$2 billion, it received US$463 million, making it one of the least funded ministries despite its responsibility for national image building, communication and district-level outreach.

Inadequate funding hampers efforts to deploy officers across districts and effectively communicate development initiatives throughout the country.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Housing, Public Works and National Housing, Cde Maxmore Njanji, reported that the Ministry of Local Government expressed its position through permanent secretary, Dr John Basera.

“The Minister (of Finance) only gave them US$4,6 billion out of the US$32,2 billion, which the minister had bid for.

“They were lobbying for an extra US$3 million or US$4 million to make it US$7 billion to achieve their targeted objectives.”

Cde Njanji also said traditional leaders and the Department of Social Amenities were pushing for increased allocations.

“They were saying if it can be pushed to around 50 percent of their requirements.”

He noted that the Ministry’s responsibility for social amenities includes housing schemes and capital projects.

“Pertaining shelter, it is important for people to have shelter, and it is the mantra of the President to leave no one and no place behind. From their presentation, they said there are still about two million people who are on the waiting list,” said Cde Njanji.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Farai Jere, said the Ministry of Sports faced underfunding, having received only 35 percent of its bid.

“What we are looking at is the budget allocation versus what they requested. We are discussing the reprioritisation and reallocation of their funds,” he explained.

Acting Permanent Secretary, Ms Cynthia Mawema, reported that delayed disbursements have slowed progress at significant sports facilities.

“One of them on top of their list is the National Sports Stadium, which they say is targeted to be homologated by mid-2026,” she noted.

Cde Jere said the Ministry hoped the Committee would push for additional funding for these facilities. “There is an Olympic Stadium that will need to be refunded and come back to use, which we are now going to push the ministry to see if the budget can be pushed a bit,” he stated.

He also emphasised the need for arts and culture programmes, particularly festivals, to receive funding boosts.

“Why not allocate money to the provinces and districts as well to ensure these programmes start from the grassroots?” asked Cde Jere.

He advocated for strengthening capacity-building workshops across the sports sector.

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Cde Tawanda Karikoga, said: “We are advocating for more weighbridges along the road because we don’t want the efforts of the Second Republic to go to waste if we’re going to address the issue on our roads.”

He called for every tollgate to include a weighbridge to enforce penalties on overloaded vehicles and ensure compliance with regulations.