Members of Parliament participated in a training workshop on Sector Budget Analysis at the Lusaka International Convention Centre at Bonanza Estate, Lusaka on 23rd and 24th September, 2023.
The workshop aimed to enhance the capacity of Members of Parliament (MP) to effectively analyse and make informed decisions on the national budget, and heads of expenditure (sector budgets) particularly in the Ministries of health, education, and agriculture, among other sectors.
The Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, Rt. Hon. Nelly Mutti, MP who was also in attendance stated that the budgeting system had undergone reforms in the last few years changing from an activity based to output based budgeting and integrating the planning and budgeting processes through the enactment of the National Planning and Budgeting Act of 2020.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Speaker Mutti said that the training was important in analysing the budget by sectors as it’s not just one of the means of strengthening the role of Parliament in the budget approval process but also making it more effective. T
he training was facilitated by experts from the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) and the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). The topics covered included an overview of the budget process, budget analysis techniques, and the role of MPs in budget oversight, Implications of debt restructuring on the outlook of social sector financing and Social Sector: The Constituency Development Fund. The MPs were also taken through a number of case studies on sector budgeting.
The workshop was organised by the National Assembly of Zambia in partnership with the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR), United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Support to the National Assembly of Zambia -European Union Project Phase 2 (NAZ-II EU).
In his opening remarks, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Roy Ngulube, emphasized the importance of the training, stating that it would enable MPs to better understand the budget and make informed decisions on behalf of their constituents. He also urged the MPs to actively participate in the training and to use the knowledge gained to effectively represent their constituencies.
The training workshop is part of the National Assembly's ongoing efforts to strengthen the capacity of MPs to effectively carry out their legislative and oversight functions. The Assembly recognizes the importance of an informed and engaged Parliament in ensuring transparency, accountability, effective and efficient use of public resources.
