|
-
Mr. Speaker, I beg to move that
the House do now resolve into
Committee of Supply on the Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
1st January 2005 to 31st December 2005,
presented to the National Assembly in
January 2005.
-
Sir, I am the bearer of a message
from His Excellency the President
recommending favourable consideration
of the motion I now lay on the Table.
-
Mr. Speaker, during the annual
Budget process, the Government
reviews the country’s recent economic
performance, assesses the challenges
and opportunities facing the nation, and
formulates the necessary policies and
programmes on how to face the
challenges and exploit the opportunities.
In 2004, the focus of the Government
was on fiscal prudence by avoiding
wastage and directing resources to
priority areas. This was a prerequisite
for securing a new Poverty Reduction
and Growth Facility (PRGF) and
reaching the Completion Point under the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) Initiative. The policy was also to
provide a stable macroeconomic
environment for private sector
investment.
-
Mr. Speaker, all this was
achieved in the year when Zambians
celebrated 40 years of peaceful
coexistence as one united country.
Indeed, 2004 saw positive economic
growth for six consecutive years, with
growth in per capita incomes being
achieved in each of the last five years.
This is evidence that the economic
policies pursued by the Mwanawasa Administration are working and,
therefore, we all must persevere to
achieve further success.
-
Mr. Speaker, in 2005, the goal of
the Government is to continue with
viable economic policies that will
promote broad-based growth and
consolidate national unity, economic
and political stability. It is in this
context that the theme for the 2005
Budget is "Steadfastness for
Accelerated and Broad-based
Growth".
-
Mr. Speaker, the Budget, which I
am presenting today benefited from
broad-based consultations with various
stakeholders. During the consultations
on the Green Paper for the Medium-
Term Expenditure Framework for 2005-
2007, the stakeholders put many
proposals forward. Those consulted
included the business community, the
labour movement, professional
associations, farmers associations, civil
society and other non-governmental
organisations. After considering these
ideas, we have incorporated the feasible
ones in formulating our policies and
spending plans for the year 2005.
-
Mr. Speaker, my address
consists of five parts. In Part One, I
review the performance of the
international economy in 2004. Part
Two examines the performance of the
domestic economy in the same year and
this is followed in Part Three by an
outline of the Government’s economic
policies for 2005. In Part Four, I present
details of the 2005 budget and the
supporting revenue measures. The final
part contains my concluding remarks.
|
|
Related documents
- 256Kb ~ 1 min (22 pages)
