2022 national budget anchored on the draft 8th NDP

Finance and National Planning minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says the 2022 national budget is anchored on the draft eighth national development plan and some unimplemented aspects of the 7^th national development plan because the previous patriotic front administration failed to leave the 8^th national development plan in place.

According to the law, the national budget is supposed to be anchored on the national development plan.

In a ministerial statement to parliament to provide clarity on why the 2022 estimates of revenue and expenditure, popularly known as the yellow book is referring to the draft eighth national development plan, Dr Musokotwane says the PF should have left the eighth national development plan in place, but only left a draft plan.

He says the new dawn administration has been made to anchor the 2022 national budget on the draft eighth national development and on things not implemented in the 7^th national development plan (7ndp).

Dr Musokotwane who had to deal with a barrage of questions from PF members of parliament who questioned the legality of approving the national budget in the absence of the national development plan, says it was the responsibility of the PF administration to complete the eighth national development plan before the august 12, 2021 election.

He says this would have enabled the incoming government to ride on the eighth national development plan in formulating the 2022 national budget.