Government pushes 2027 budget from 30 October to 6 November

The government has moved the presentation of the 2027 National Budget from 30 October to 6 November. Vice-President Mutale Nalumango announced the change on Tuesday, saying the Ministry of Finance and National Planning is still working on the document. The date had been public for only about a week. Nalumango had announced that Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane would present the budget on 30 October. The new date falls on a Friday. She gave no other reason for the delay, and no figures from the budget have been released. ## How the budget process works Zambia's financial year runs from January to December, so the budget presented in the last quarter of the year sets tax rates and spending for the following twelve months. Once the Minister has presented it, Speaker Nelly Mutti has up to seven days to suspend the business of the House for 10 working days so that committees can study each ministry's spending plans. On the new timetable the House would return on 24 November. The budget is being finalised at a busy moment for the Treasury. The government has just restructured its ministries from 25 to 30, and the Auditor-General's latest report has pointed to revenue the Ministry of Finance did not collect. Economists have also been giving advice: the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) has urged the government not to reduce Pay As You Earn (PAYE) in the 2027 budget. ## Why it matters The budget decides how much tax workers and businesses pay, how much goes to fertiliser support for farmers, social cash transfers for poor households, salaries for teachers and nurses, and the repayment of debt. Traders and households plan around those decisions, so a week's delay keeps them waiting for answers on taxes and prices. ## What happens next Dr Musokotwane is expected to present the 2027 National Budget on 6 November. The House is then due to break for sector budget analysis and resume on 24 November. SOURCE: News Digg