Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA) says there is need for government to make a realistic budget based on Malawi’s economic capability.
ECAMA President Chikumbutso Kalilombe made the remarks on Friday during 2018/19 Ministerial Pre-budget Consultation Meeting at BICC In Malawi’ capital Lilongwe.
According to Kalilombe, the budget shouldn’t be made based on dreams of economic output but it should be what the economy can bring forth so that Malawians should be beneficiaries.
The ECAMA boss observed Malawi is still lagging behind in terms of agriculture, health, education, energy and other important sectors hence such areas can be prioritised in the budget.
Kalilombe said ECAMA has prioritised two principles in the budget and these are that the budget should be realistic and that the funds should be used for intended purposes.
He added that there is also need to empower some of the institutions such as Anti-Corruption Bureau in order to end corruption in the country.
On Wednesday, various organisations also submitted their proposals to Ministry of Finance for the next budget.
In his speech, Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) Executive Director Dalitso Kubalasa said there is need to know the challenges Malawians are facing so that they should be included in the forthcoming budget.
He said the pre-budget consultation was aimed at discussing issues concerning 2018/19 national budget and determining the level of compliance and implementation of key commitments in three key policies namely; The National Disaster Risk Management (NDRM), National Agricultural Policy (NAP) and National Climate Change Management (NCCM) Policy.
In order to be effective in your contribution ECAMA should put together their own version of a budget which they believe will deliver the much needed economic development. we all know that the discus has only about K1.3 trillion. So ECAMA, how should that little money be spent. Let the tail wag the dog.