Malawi unveils budget for 2008/09

LUSAKA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Malawi Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe unveiled Friday a 229.2 billion kwacha (1.58 billion U.S. dollars)) budget for the 2008/09 financial year, which has seen village headmen getting a 400 percent honoraria hike, civil servants walking away with an average 20 percent salary raise and tax free income threshold pegged at 9,000 kwacha from 7,000 kwacha.

Total resources for the budget are projected at 208 billion kwacha with 118 billion kwacha from domestic sources and 90 billion kwacha in grants, website of The Nation newspaper of the country reported Saturday.

Gondwe said as a result the overall deficit is estimated at 21.2 billion kwacha which is 3.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and this shortfall will be fully financed by foreign borrowing. Domestic borrowing is estimated to fall by 1.7 billion kwacha, he said.

In last year's 172 billion kwacha budget, the government pushed salaries of the country's six paramount chiefs to 50,000 kwacha, senior chiefs cart away home 30,000 kwacha, Traditional Authorities (TA) honoraria is at 18,000 kwacha while Sub TAs are at 8,000 kwacha a month.

But the village headman will now receive 2,500 kwacha from 500 kwacha while group village headmen perks move from 1,000 kwacha to5,000 kwacha monthly, representing a 400 percent jump in both cases. (1 U.S. dollar = 145 kwacha)