Govt collects excess revenue in January

Govt collects excess revenue in January

Lusaka, February 16, 2014, ZANIS….Government revenue collection improved in January last month with K3 billion collected against the projected K2.5 billion.

Acting Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa has assured the nation that the Ministry of Finance will monitor budgetary releases to ensure transparency and accountability.

Mr Nkulukusa said the Ministry is committed to monitoring the budget and how money released is used in order to ensure that it is better the lives of Zambians.

In a statement made available to ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr Nkulukusha said it was important to continue the upholding accountability and transparency when dealing with public funds.

Commenting on the performance of budget in January, Mr Nkulukusa said revenue collected by government was K3 billion against the projected K2.5 billion.

He said tax revenue accounted for K2.8 billion while non-tax revenue was K203.9 million and that K753.5 million was carried over from the 2013 financial year.

Mr Nkulukusa also revealed that the Treasury released a total of K3.4 billion for the implementation of developmental programs and statutory expenditures last month .

He said of the released funds, K1.3 billion was allocated to salaries for public service workers and constitutional office holders while K1.8 billion was for developmental programs and for the smooth running of government spending agencies.

The government also released K337 million for road maintenances and construction while K221 million was used to pay outstanding bills for the 2013/2014 farmers input support program

Government also spent K27.5 million in litigation cases that were ruled against it.

K7.8 million went to facilitate the availability of credit to public service workers while K62.8 was released to settle outstanding bills for retirees and pensioners.

Mr Nkulukusa also said K306.7 million was released out of which K234.8 million was paid towards interests on government bonds and K71.8 million went towards external debt service payment.

The Treasury says that it will ensure that the right course of action is taken so as to work within the budget and make the necessary adjustments should need arise to achieve the 2014 budget expenditure.