In Zambia, public finances can only be expended once appropriated by Parliament through an Appropriation Act, which authorises the expenditure of public funds in a given financial year. However, sometimes, the appropriated amounts are found to be inadequate to meet the expenditure needs of the country in a given year, some unexpected revenue comes into the possession of the Government or some appropriated funds for a given programme have to be carried over to the next year when that programme is not completed in the year under which its implementation was budgeted for. In that case, the Minister responsible for finance is mandated to present to a Supplementary Budget for approval. Public funds that have not been appropriated in the Budget for a given year may also be expended through a presidential warrant when there is a compelling national interest that needs to be served, but cannot wait for supplementary expenditure to be appropriated by Parliament.