Bill Watch 42/2019 [Mid-Year Budget
Review & Supplementary Budget Presented]
04 August 2019
BILL WATCH 42/2019
[4th August 2019]
Presentation of 2019 Mid-Year Budget Review & Supplementary Budget
Both Houses will Sit Again on Tuesday 6th August
On Thursday 2nd August the Minister of Finance and Economic Development,
Hon Mthuli Ncube, presented his 2019 Mid-Year Budget Review and
Supplementary Budget to the National Assembly. President Mnangagwa attended
the presentation. Opposition MDC-A MPs did not [see below].
Budget debate to continue on Tuesday 6th August
There was no debate after the Minister's presentation. Debate will continue on
Tuesday next week, 6th August, on his motion seeking the leave of the House to
bring a Bill to make provision for the revenues and public funds of Zimbabwe and
ancillary and incidental matters. MPs, therefore, have four intervening days to
digest the Minister's speech and Budget documents, and prepare for the debate.
Budget Documents available from Veritas
The following documents are available on the Veritas website using the hyperlinks
specified:
Minister's Budget Speech [link]
2019 Mid-Year Budget Review and Supplementary Budget [link]
Budget Highlights [document prepared by the Ministry of Finance and
Economic Development] [link]
Departmental Draft of the Finance (No. 2) Bill [a Bill to give effect to the
taxation measures proposed in the Supplementary Budget that need to be
approved by Act of Parliament] [link].
The Blue Book [Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for 2019] showing the
proposed revised vote appropriations for Ministries and other entities – a 129-page
book – is not yet available in soft copy. Page 5 of the Budget Highlights document
[link], however, contains a handy list of the revised vote appropriations for the
Office of the President and Cabinet, Parliament, Ministries, Commissions and
other State entities.
Exclusion of MDC-A MPs from 1st August proceedings
When, before the Budget presentation, Hon Chinotimba raised as a matter of
privilege the boycotting of the Budget proceedings by MDC-A MPs because the
President would be present, the Speaker made a ruling:
THE HON. SPEAKER: “It is unfortunate that the Hon. Members of the main
opposition party here in Parliament have decided to boycott this session in
which His Excellency the President will be in attendance. There are two
issues that we need to put on record. The first one is that His Excellency the
President is Head of State and Government and Commander-In-Chief of the
Defence Forces.
Now, there is some lack of understanding when we say the President is Head
of State. The President is Head of State because he is an embodiment of the