18 Dec 2022

Public Investment Programme (PIP) for the second Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP) will require a development budget estimate of P64.07 billion for implementation of national development priorities during financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25.

In his presentation to Parliament on Thursday, Minister for State President Mr Kabo Morwaeng said the PIP provided an estimate of the amount of investible resources allocated to various ministries, departments and agencies for implementation of projects.

Mr Morwaeng said out of the total PIP of P64.07 billion development expenditure proposed for the two years, P29 billion would be for the financial year 2023/24 while 35.1 billion would be set aside for the 2024/25 financial year.

Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic stunted economic growth and slowed the implementation of projects, the minister said P37.3 billion, or over 58.2 per cent of the PIP would go towards funding ongoing projects already approved, with contracts signed, and being implemented.

The minister said the other set of projects which constitute P26.8 billion in the PIP were new projects whose implementation had not started but identified for inclusion in the new plan.

Mr Morwaeng said while the PIP would see funds go beyond the fiscal ceilings set by the Ministry of Finance, government would seek alternative funding options, including the sourcing of loans from international development partners, grants and enlisting public-private partnerships (PPPs) to close the funding gap.

Major projects planned he said include construction of major roads, village infrastructure, one stop border posts, new railway links, airport development, water infrastructure, sanitation, electricity grid strengthening, renewable energy, targeted rural infrastructure to support agriculture and digital connectivity infrastructure.

These and the maintenance of existing infrastructure takes the bulk of the PIP, as well as social welfare, Mr Morwaeng said, along with human capital and skills development as well as initiatives to support private sector growth.

Taking precedence would be infrastructure development to unlock opportunities for trade, value chain growth, export-led development, increased productivity, competitiveness, increased productivity and private sector engagement, Mr Morwaeng said. Additionally, the development manager approach would allow for addressing the implementation bottlenecks and capacity limitations of the past, Mr Morwaeng said. ENDS