Govt underspent by 21.7% says Mthuli Ncube

By Daniel Chigundu

Presentation of the 2025 national budget performance by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube at the 2026 pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo has revealed that the government has underspent by at least 21.7% between January and September this year.

According to the presentantion by the Minister, expenditure was ZiG151.7 billion against a target of ZiG193.8 billion anticipated for the period.

The underspend however, is a result of poor resource disbursements by treasury to ministries, government departments and agents majority of whom have used less than 30% of their budget allocation for 2025.

Office of the President and Cabinet as has become a tradition, have already overspent their budget they are at 102%, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development is also above their allocation sitting 223%, with the Ministry of National Houseing and Social Amenities following suit with 124%.

Critical Ministries such as HGealth and Child Care continue with their measle under-utilisation of budget standing at just 36%, two months before end of the financial year. The  Ministry of Public Service, Labour  and Social Welfare spent only  29% of their budget.

According to Mthuli Ncube, the ‘’total budget utilisation is 55% based on approved budget but it stands at 69% based on exchange rate adjusted.’’ 

In the period under review, the main contributors to total revenue collections were as follows: Value Added Tax (23.7%), Personal Income Tax (19.3%), Excise Duty (11.5%), Corporate Income Tax (11.2%), and Customs Duty(6.9%).

Meanwhile, the Govt is projecting the economy to grow by 5% in 2026, and this will be largely driven by the following assumptions: 1. that there will be Normal rainfall patterns, 2. Improved electricity generation, 3. Prudent monetary and fiscal policies, 4. Low and stable inflation and exchange rate, and 5. Moderate international commodity prices.

The government is expecting to collect revenue to the tune of ZiG287.6 billion against anticipated expenditure of about ZiG 290.8 billion.  

According to the minister, the 2026 National Budget will allocate resources to empower oversight institutions, enabling them to fulfil their mandates effectively. This includes increasing transparency and responsiveness to societal concerns such as corruption, tender-preneurship, and resource leakages.

The 2026 Budget will also support the security cluster salaries, operations, and ongoing training to safeguard peace and national sovereignty.

The pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo is scheduled to run from the 5^th of November to the 9^th. It, however, remains to the seen if the minister of finance will allocate adequate resources to the ministries and government departments, especially those that have social welfare responsibilities, as well as meet the elusive Abuja declaration threshold.

Govt underspent by 21.7% says Mthuli Ncube