$618bn in tax revenue raised between January, February
GOVERNMENT raised Z$618 billion in tax revenue between January and February and Z$204 billion has been availed to several capital projects, a Cabinet minister has said.
The Second Republic also mobilised $103,45 billion from the domestic market against the initial target of $8,3 billion.
Capital projects that benefited include Hwange Power Station Expansion 7 and 8, Harare-Beitbridge Road construction, irrigation, health and housing.
In her post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said Cabinet received reports on progress made in the implementation of priority projects for the first 100-Day Cycle of 2023 from Finance and Economic Development minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
Professor Mthuli Ncube
Outlining the funds distribution, Minister Mutsvangwa said a total of $15 billion was disbursed towards social services provision.
“The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Honourable Prof Mthuli Ncube, highlighted that Z$618 billion in tax revenue was raised during the months of January and February 2023, a total of Z$15 billion was disbursed towards social services provision,” she said.
A total of $204 billion has been availed to several projects, $3 billion Hwange Power Station Expansion 7 and 8 and Harare-Beitbridge Road, $18,4 billion, and $14,8 billion on other roads.
Last month, Hwange Power Station’s Unit 7 was successfully synchronised with the national grid with officials saying the unit has not developed any problems.
The synchronisation process sought to establish if the electricity being generated from Unit 7 would flow seamlessly into the national grid.
Unit 7 is a component of the US$1,4 billion Hwange Unit 7 and 8 expansion project whose construction began in August 2018 following a ground-breaking ceremony by President Mnangagwa
Zambezi River Authority was allocated $2,1 billion, water and sanitation ($25,5 billion), ICT ($3,8 billion), health ($19,5 billion), housing ($14,2 billion), education ($3,9 billion), irrigation projects received $11,2 billion.
The minister added that the Strategic Grain Reserve was allocated $18,4 billion, capitalisation of State-Owned Enterprises ($4,6 billion), devolution ($16,8 billion) and other capital items were allocated $47 billion.
Government has indicated that this year, it will prioritise the parastatal reforms agenda guided by the Short to Medium Term Reform Framework (SEPs-SMTRF) and the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) as it strives to moderate the enterprises’ load on the fiscus and promote efficiency.
The programme intends to bring about engagement of strategic partners for several Government-owned entities like the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ), POSB, and firms under the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
It also envisages the merger of Powertel, Zarnet and Africom while Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) will be integrated with the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz).
Over the years, the Government has devised investment vehicles and collaborated with private sector players through joint ventures, to invest in various sectors of the economy.
In his 2023 National Budget Statement, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube noted that the Government earmarked the completion of the State enterprises reforms.
“State Enterprise and Parastatals reforms have been guided by the SEPs Short to Medium Term Reform Framework (SEPs-SMTRF), the National Development Strategy (NDS) 1 and Vision 2030.
Government has over the years created investment vehicles and partnered private sector players through joint ventures, to invest in various sectors of the economy, especially the mining sector.
“Drawing lessons from the successes and challenges faced in implementing the SEPs-SMTRF since 2018, it is envisaged that the SEPs reform priorities for 2023 will be guided by the completion of the on-going SEPs reforms,” said Prof Ncube.-chronicles
