Zivanai Dhewa

The Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Permanent Secretary and the Accountant General have revealed that Government has made provisions within its budget to secure funds dedicated to acquisition of medication following increased demand of medication in recent months.

In a statement of the financial performance Government said airtime levy for medication had surpassed its budget. 

“Airtime levy for February 2019 contributed $11.7 million against a budget of $10.2 million.  This levy is ring fenced for medical equipment and drugs,” read part of the statement.

Meanwhile, the consolidated statement of the financial performance of the consolidated revenue fund for the period ended 28 February 2019, revealed that Government had managed to stay within its budget projections.

“Total revenue for February for 2019 was $606.7 million against a budget of $462.7 million resulting in a positive variance of $143.9 million which translates to 31%,” read the statement.

The Accountant General attributed the positive variance to tax collections.

“Major contributors to this positive variance were Tax on income, which contributed $141.4 million against a budget of $113.5 million and Tax on Goods and Services, which contributed $336.4 million against a budget of $256.4 million resulting in a positive variance of $80 million,” revealed the statement.

Meanwhile, the Money Transfer Tax for February 2019 contributed to $94.7 million.

Section 38 of Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19) requires Treasury to publish consolidated financial reports in the Gazette within thirty days after the end of each month.  It is also meant to provide a summary of national Government’s financial resources and their application for the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe.