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| Mr Zitto |
The opposition camp in Parliament on
Monday unveiled its 15trn/- alternative budget for 2012/13 financial year, with
the aim of attaining between six and eight per cent in rural economic growth
for the benefits of about 30 million rural population.
The opposition shadow minister for
finance and economic affairs, Mr Kabwe Zitto, said the budget dwells on
creating friendly environment for rural economic growth through improvement of
road, electricity, water and irrigation infrastructure.
The alternative budget, which targets
11.9trn/- revenues from domestic sources, has 6trn/- directed to development
projects, with the remaining 9trn/- left for recurrent expenditures.
The government has allocated 10.6trn/- and 4.5trn/-
to recurrent and development expenditures, respectively.
Mr Zitto faulted the government for
routinely borrowing money to finance allowances, seminars, workshops, foreign
trips and purchase of posh vehicles for government officials, saying the trend
has increased the national debt unnecessarily.
“The opposition camp is saddened
by the government’s creation of excessive debt for the nation through borrowing
for recurrent spending,” Mr Zitto said, charging that the issue was not
sustainability as the government claims but the reasons behind the debt.
He said the parliament is responsible
for controlling the government against indiscriminate borrowing, charging, “We
cannot allow our elders (those in powers) to live their lives, live our lives
and borrow our children’s lives.”
The legislator warned the government
against its plan to borrow about 3trn/- from domestic and foreign sources under
commercial rates, saying commercial loans by the government have adverse impact
on the economy as they limit the capacity of small entrepreneurs to compete
with the government.
He challenged the government to increase
domestic revenue collections instead of going for commercial loans. The Kigoma
North MP on Chadema ticket touted heavy investment in production of food crops
as the lasting solution to inflation, dismissing proposals by the finance
minister, Dr William Mgimwa, as ineffective.
In his budget speech to the august
House here last Thursday, Dr Mgimwa announced the government plans to issue
permits for sugar and rice duty-free imports to strengthen the national food
reserve.
But, Mr Zitto criticised the strategy
that the government applied last financial year, with the results being
increased prices that saw sugar prices escalating to as high as 2,800/- per
kilogramme.
“The government wants to give the same solution to the same problem
and expects to get different outcome,” he said.
Shadow Minister in the President's
Office, Planning, Christina Mughwai said it was high time the government,
through the central bank, started to keep the national reserve in gold to
mitigate the effects of the shilling depreciation. She further proposed that
the central bank start buying gold from small-scale miners and charge royalty
on pure gold.
Source: The Daily News,http://www.dailynews.co.tz
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