Government faces K1.7 billion shortfall in the 2024 budget revenue

Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey responding to a series of questions on the 2024 national budget shortfalls, in Parliament on Thursday (Image: National Parliament)

The National Government has an outstanding of over K1.7 billion from the K27 billion 2024 budget to honor outstanding's owed to government departments, provincial governments and other projects.

These outstandings, largely from shortfalls in the non-tax revenue collections, in the state-owned entities dividends and other statutory department fees.

About eighty percent of the revenue collections for the budget, were to come from the tax and non-tax revenues, however, this did not eventuate as planned - resulting in outstandings which Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey assured would be paid by mid-year.

Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey told Parliament; these monies are from a total outstanding of K3.6 billion owed in expenditures from 2024.

Mr. Ling-Stuckey says from this K3.6 billion outstanding, over K1.8 billion has been paid already. He's reassured that the outstanding of K1.7 billion is expected to be settled by May, this year.

The Treasury department has revealed that it was unable to collect revenues, or funds from state owned entities, through the non-tax revenue collections for 2024.

These were from the Non-Tax Revenue Act group of departments and agencies, state-owned entities dividends, and various statutory and departmental fees.

Mr Ling-Stuckey says, that from a projected revenue collection of about K2.4 billion, they only collected close to K1.2 billion, a shortfall of close to K1.3 billion.

He's blamed these shortfalls for the delay and outstanding of over K1.7 billion from the K27 billion in the 2024 budget owed to various government departments, provincial governments and other projects.

The Treasurer added that the Internal Revenue Commission and Customs did well in their targeted revenue collections for 2024 with a budgeted expectation of K18.6 billion, they were able to collect K18.5 billion - a shortfall of K119 million

The Government expected to collect about K21 billion through tax and non-tax streams for its K27 billion national budget of 2024, however it only collected over K19 billion.

Kandep MP Don Polye asked a series of questions to Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey, on the budget shortfalls and how the Government is addressing them (Image: National Parliament)

Mr Ling-Stuckey was responding to a series of questions from Kandep MP Don Polye in Parliament on meeting the 2024 budget revenue targets and if not, how it was being addressed.