Treasury exceeds expenditure budget for 2016 by $410 million in 9 months

In the 9 months between January and  September this year, Treasury exceeded the expenditure budget for the whole year by $410 million.  Treasury has attributed this to debt servicing and grain imports due to the drought. Minister of Finance Patrick Chinamsa said the situation was undesirable and added that:

The high recurrent expenditures inclusive of employment costs renders the country highly consumptive and hence anti-developmental.

Cumulative expenditure to September amounted to $3,48 billion against a target of $2,99 billion.  Major expenditure drivers were employment costs, grain procurement and debt servicing

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