Opposition questions government’s progress on 2025 budget targets

The Opposition Leader has slammed the government for not achieving 90 percent of the targets outlined in the 2025 national budget.

Douglas Tomuriesa made these remarks, ahead of the parliament session today at 2pm.

With a few weeks left before the November budget session, there are concerns raised about the implementation of the country's K28-billion budget for this year.

The health sector was allocated a massive K2.7 billion to address critical health challenges and improve health care access. Still, with recent ongoing reports of medical shortages in some provincial health authorities, opposition leader Douglas Tomuriesa has questioned the government on whether it has achieved most of its budget targets for 2025.

Likewise, for the law and justice sector, which was allocated a significant portion of the budget, amounting to K2.3 billion.

"The government needs to be honest with the way they expend and release the budget. One of the main concerns that we have, apart from health, is the law and order issues that we have in our country," the Opposition Leader said.

The national government also had billions in outstandings from the 2024 budget that it brought forward to this year. It's unclear whether these outstandings have been paid off as it prepares to bring the 2026 national budget.

The opposition leader has called on the government to reduce its spending and taxes to improve living standards and restore confidence in the economy.

"And my call to the minister is please release those funds, release those monies to these agencies, to these sectors, to these departments, so departmental heads and sector heads can perform their duties and responsibilities. You cannot hold the money in treasury and in finance and expect the departments and the sectors and the agencies to perform their duties," Tomuriesa said.

Parliament reconvenes today at 2 pm with the traditional 45-minute question time and presentation of bills and papers.