Lilongwe District Council nods to K61.5 billion budget
By Emmanuel Simpokolwe:
Lilongwe District Council has approved K61.5 billion as the budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year with the hope that it will spur socio-economic activities.
The budget is 14 percent above the K53.8 billion set aside for the 2022-23 financial year and was passed at a full council meeting Monday.
Of the total budget, K42.9 billion, or 86 percent, will go towards personal emoluments for seconded staff while the development budget is estimated at K18.6 billion.
Presenting the budget statement before the figure was passed, Lilongwe District Council Finance Committee Chairperson Dominic Banda said the budget will be financed with government direct payments (K42.9 billion), Central Government transfers (6.2 billion), locally generated revenues (K820 million) and donor financing Banda expressed optimism that the 2023- 24 budget would improve residents’ lives.
“We are optimistic that resources we plan to generate locally will be mobilised, in line with our Local Revenue Enhancement Strategic Plan for 2020-2025,” Banda said.
The council’s director of finance Charles Mhone said some of the funds would be used for project implementation
He cited maternity wings, schools and bridges as some of the things that would benefit from the funds.
He expressed hope that the Central Government would not reduce funding allocations.
“We are hopeful that the government will not reduce the amount of estimated funds for us to meet our goals,” he said.
The health sector has been allocated K746 million for procurement of drugs, patients’ feeding, payment of utility bills and mitigation of cholera and Covid.
The council has allocated K957 million to the education sector for school improvement grants, procurement of education supplies and training expenses.
About K68 million has been allocated to the agriculture sector for implementation of the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) and training expenses.
