By Rudo Saungweme

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that the budget surplus will continue in the year 2020 and the funds obtained from the surplus shall be channelled towards essential commodities.

President Mnangagwa said this yesterday in his New Year message delivered at State House yesterday.

“The new trend of Budget surpluses will continue and resources there-from used to finance more public services such as healthcare facilities, schools, roads and related projects with a direct impact on the people`s well-being,” he said.

The budget surplus is resulting from the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax that was introduced by Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube on, 12 October 2018. The tax was part of the austerity measures by the new administration.

In 2019 the surplus got from the tax saw civil servants getting their bonus pegged on gross earnings.

Tweeting on his twitter handle on 3 November last year, Professor Ncube said, “Civil servants to get bonus thanks to austerity.”