08 Nov 2023

The Minister of Finance will give Parliament a detailed brief on the Government Accounting and Budgeting System (GABS) performance during the course of the week.

Responding to a question in  Parliament Minister of Finance, Ms Peggy Serame said the GABS performance had been sub-optimal over the last three months.

Ms Serame indicated that the October 2023 accounts were not yet available. 

“It would perhaps be useful to indicate that even in a normal situation, the accounts of the preceding month would only be available mid-way through the following month to allow for reconciliation of votes,” she said.

Bobonong Member of Parliament, Mr Taolo Lucas  had asked the minister to update Parliament on the level of spending of the current budget for the different ministries as at October 2023 as well as the major contributory factors for low spending in the top three low spending ministries.

MP Lucas has also inquired about the total amount of money that had been moved from low spending ministries to other ministries as well as mitigating interventions for poor implementation and low spending in ministries.

Ms Serame said as at July 2023, the level of spending under the development budget for the different ministries was over P5.6 billion, which was 27 per cent of the development budget of over P21 billion.She said 17 ministries and departments recorded development expenditure from zero to 10 per cent. Of the remaining eight ministries and departments, Ms Serame said local government and rural development recorded 56 per cent, minerals and energy 52 per cent, lands and water affairs 41 per cent, Attorney General’s Chambers recorded 40 per cent, agriculture 37 per cent, State President 15 per cent, trade and industry 12 per cent and transport and public works 11 per cent of the development budget expenditure.

Ms Serame said major contributing factors for low spending in the top three low spending ministries were that projects were included in the budget without going through a robust design and preparation process. 

She said a number of health and education facilities were budgeted for before detailed designs were completed.

In some cases, Ms Serame said, less spending was a result of the fact that projects were not based on detailed costs, giving an example of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a budget of P130 million to purchase a chancery in Tokyo, Japan.

However, Ms Serame said after the embassy in Japan commenced the process of procuring the property at the beginning of the financial year, they received bids ranging from P98 million to P343 million.

Lack of technical capacity to implement projects was also cited as a factor for low expenditure.. Ms Serame said departments such as National Assembly, Industrial Court and Administration of Justice did not have technical units.

“Some projects are implemented through the Development Manager model and contracts were only signed on October 24, 2023, as the contracts were still being negotiated,” she said.

Minister Serame said the total amount that had been moved from low spending ministries such as education and skills development, communications, knowledge and technology, defence and security and entrepreneurship to augment the budget allocation for Botswana Power Corporation operational costs under the Ministry of Minerals and Energy amounted over P1.6 billion.

She said the mitigating interventions for poor implementation and low spending in ministries were three stage appraisal process where all mega projects had to go through a rigorous project preparation process which entailed pre-feasibility, feasibility and independent reviews to ensure that there were no costs overruns and that projects were implemented according to plan.

Ms Serame added that the Development Manager model was also expected to assist in the implementation of the projects from design to delivery to ensure that projects were implemented with stipulated time to prevent unnecessary additional costs. Ends