LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Member of Parliament (MP) for Blantyre City South, Noel Lipipa, says MK3.3 trillion target for Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) to finance the 2024-2025 National Budget is very unrealistic.
Making the contribution to the budget in the august house on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Lipipa observes that business climatic condition will not allow MRA to correct enough revenue.
He said the country has no forex the situation hindering the private sector for production that generates enough forex to finance national budget.
He adds, “There is a significant disparity between the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Chakwera and the National Budget for 2024-25 as it indicates lack of correlation between the two”.
Furthermore, Lipipa expressed dismay over the neglect of road infrastructure leading to tourist attractions, highlighting their deteriorating condition.
On mining sector, Lipipa said that there is need for allocation of funds in the mining sector towards energy and roads serving mining areas, none of which are addressed in the budget.
“The budget is populist and filled with rhetoric including unrealistic numbers that they are unlikely to be achieved,” said Lipipa.
Echoing the same, Member of Parliament for Chiradzulu South, Joseph Mwanamveka said instability of the exchange rate is affecting the roads construction.
Mwanamveka said the rate moved from 7 percent in 2020 to 35 percent in 2023 and government is failing to meet the figures of the constructors as everything has hiked.
He cited that the economic planning development has failed malawians as the country relay on road transport to move our goods.
“M1,M5 is in a bad shape and more roads will not be completed by 2025 as the MCP government are just continuing the roads that the DPP government developed already,” said Mwanamveka.
The 2024-2025 Fiscal Plan is pegged at MK5.95 trillion.
