07 Feb 2022

Ministry of Health and Wellness has been allocated P10 billion out of the proposed P53 billion ministerial recurrent budget for the 2022/23 financial year.

Finance and economic development minister, Ms Peggy Serame told Parliament yesterday that the health ministry  was allocated the largest share because of its mandate which included the key priority of saving Batswana from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Government’s continued response to the pandemic will entail the procurement of more personal protective equipment, oxygen equipment and other vaccines, including booster vaccines as well as logistics and ancilliary supplies,” she said.

Ms Serame, who was presenting the 2022/23 budget, said the Ministry of Basic Education got the second largest share at P9.9 billion followed by Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security, P8.5 billion and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development with P7 billion.

  Allocated P3 billion,  Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology’s allocation has declined by P1.34 billion or 29.2 per cent over the current year’s budget.

Ms Serame explained that this was as a result of a cabinet decision to transfer the tuition fees vote from the Department of Tertiary Education Financing to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

“The transfer is aimed at ensuring that this vote is managed prudently for long term sustainability,” Ms Serame said.

As a result of the transfer, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development‘s proposed budget grew by P1.4 billion to around P2.4 billion.

Other ministries with reduced budget allocations are Transport and Communications and Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration.

In the case of the transport ministry, its allocation has declined by about P4 million getting P1.8 billion or 3. 4 per cent of the 2022/23 budget.

The Ministry for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration’s allocation  of about P1.6 billion shows a 0.8 per cent decline from the 2021/22 budget.

With regard to Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Ms Serame said the proposed allocation was P1.44 billion showing an increase of P51.30 million or 3.7 per cent over the current year’s budget.

The budget is for supporting the agricultural sector in pursuit of improved food production.

“The remainder of the total ministerial recurrent expenditure that is P7.32 billion is shared among the rest of the ministries and extra ministerial departments,”  she said.BOPA