{"id":11261,"date":"2022-03-09T10:06:41","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T10:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/sophonea-turns-a-tide"},"modified":"2022-03-09T11:15:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T11:15:18","slug":"sophonea-turns-a-tide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/sophonea-turns-a-tide","title":{"rendered":"Sophonea turns a tide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>Against the tough global economic climate, the Minister of Finance Hon. Thabo Sophonea said the country will adopt tough fiscal measures. This is contained in the 2022\/2023 budget speech.<\/p>\n

The budget was unceremoniously tabled in parliament last week as the process was frustrated due to chaos that broke out at the National Assembly caused by the<\/p>\n

members of the majority ruling party in the coalition, All Basotho Convention (ABC). The budget is done under the theme: \u201cBuilding a Resilient, Sustainable and Innovative Economy: Fiscal Consolidation amid COVID -19\u201d<\/p>\n

He said some policies will point a country to a better development trajectory. \u201cLesotho like other countries is still recovering from the scourge of COVID-19, which<\/p>\n

has deep negative socio-economic impacts. Therefore, the budget speech I am delivering today will present a mix of policies that will set a firm foundation<\/p>\n

of shifting the development trajectory to a sustainable one,\u201d reads the budget speech. The government usually comes under fire for poor financial management and lack of<\/p>\n

accountability by the alleged culprits found wanting in the public cookie jar. He pointed out that the COVID-19 sponsored economic turndown and floods continue<\/p>\n

to have an impact on social and economic climate thereby disturbing the key sectors. The economic contractions together with the projected lesser SACU [Southern African<\/p>\n

Customs Union] revenue have added weight to our external and fiscal positions. Sophonea noted that there has been achievements that were registered over the past<\/p>\n

financial year but warned that \u201cthere are challenges that require continuing political courage and commitment in order to make meaningful advancements in<\/p>\n

achieving broad-based economic growth\u201d. The Minister added: \u201cSuch growth must hold noticeable developments in the livelihoods of the people. You will agree with me when I say: \u201cit is only when<\/p>\n

we observe and achieve this fundamental purpose that our national budgets become relevant\u201d. For the 2022\/2023 fiscal year, the total expenditure estimates are proposed at M24.8<\/p>\n

billion of which the recurrent expenditure is M18.1 billion and capital expenditure is M6.8 billion. \u201cIMF projects [the] global economy to slow to 4.4 percent in 2022 from 5.9 percent<\/p>\n

in 2021 before weakening further to 3.8 percent in 2023. Sub-Saharan Africa is forecasted to grow at 3.7 percent in 2022 before expanding to 4 percent in<\/p>\n

2023. However, high energy prices and elevated inflation are expected to carry along with their uncertainty in the medium-term global growth. \u201cGrowth<\/p>\n

in South Africa is expected to return to its pre-pandemic levels at 2.1 percent in 2022 before averaging 1.8 percent over the medium-term. Meanwhile, inflation<\/p>\n

prospects for 2022 have been revised upwards to 4.8 percent from 4.5 percent. In 2023, inflation is expected to moderate at 4.5 percent,\u201d reads the budget<\/p>\n

speech. He further highlighted that these global developments may hold better fortunes for the country. Sophonea commended the Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) for a \u201cmaintained excellent<\/p>\n

performance in support of Government\u2019s drive to provide services to our people\u201d. He showed that in the 2021\/2022 fiscal year it made a collection of M7.2 billion against the target of M6.4 billion, M745 million surplus on tax<\/p>\n

revenue collection. \u201cLesotho and Millennium Challenge Corporation concluded Compact II negotiations in February 2022. This landmark agreement will transform Lesotho`s economic<\/p>\n

landscape. We owe it to ourselves as the people, to ensure that the agreement comes to force, and we successfully implement the projects in the Compact, that<\/p>\n

is, Health Systems Strengthening project; Market-Driven Irrigated Horticulture Project; Business Environment and Technical Assistance Project,\u201d the Minister noted.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. Against the tough global economic climate, the Minister of Finance Hon. Thabo Sophonea said the country will adopt tough fiscal measures. This is contained in the 2022\/2023 budget speech. The budget was unceremoniously tabled in parliament last week as the process was frustrated due to chaos that broke out at the National […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":11260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,7,8,16],"tags":[233,246,415,245],"class_list":["post-11261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-economic","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nSophonea turns a tide - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Against the tough global economic climate, the Minister of Finance Hon. 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