FINANCE deputy minister Christopher Mvunga says it is important for all government leaders to exercise financial management discipline to achieve the targets set in the 2016 national budget. Debating the 2016 budget in Parliament on Tuesday, Mvunga also explained that the approach of expenditure optimisation was reflected in the budget deficit of 3.8 per cent, although a number of critics questioned whether such a target would be met. “The answer Mr Speaker is not for the honourable minister [Chikwanda]. The answer lies in our collective resolve to support the 2016 budget and consequently achieve the budget targets. Where there is a will, there is a way,” he told Parliament. “To achieve the targets set, it is important to exercise financial management discipline by all of us. Mr Speaker, I challenge all of us to ask ourselves a simple question whenever we are spending public funds and the question is; ‘Would I spend this money the way I am spending if it was my own money’?” Mvunga defended the 2016 budget, arguing that it was responsive to the current global economic challenges that had not spared Zambia. He said Zambia was not immune to what was happening globally, hence the budget that Chikwanda presented was a reflection and correct response to the current challenges Zambia was experiencing. Mvunga said the 2016 budget was coherent and did not only recognise the challenges prevailing in the global markets but would ensure positive gross domestic product growth of the Zambian economy. “Mr Speaker, we can only spend what we collect in revenues, supplemented by grants, concessions, loans and external commercial borrowing. The extent to which we can expand our revenue collection is futile,” he claimed. “Therefore, revenues will always be a limiting factor in formulation of a budget. Mr Speaker, as earlier explained, revenue opportunities are not infinite and therefore the call by the honourable minister [Chikwanda] to optimise expenditure in 2016 as reflected in the 2016 budget theme is timely.” And Mvunga said the PF administration has been brave enough to undertake an aggressive infrastructure investment programme whose results are there for all to see. He said the government was on the right footing with infrastructure development, which had stagnated for a while. “Mr Speaker, Zambia’s stagnation in infrastructure investment previously has created an accumulated backlog of capital expenditure programmes which is a cornerstone to creating future economic development for our country,” said Mvunga. “Notwithstanding this, the PF government has been brave enough to undertake an aggressive infrastructure investment programme whose results are there for all to see.” - See more at: http://www.postzambia.com/news.php?id=12720#sthash.KoeckHnW.dpuf