Bulawayo- The Ministry of Finance has moved to rein in runaway expenditure by government ministries, introducing stringent approval requirements for large contracts as Treasury battles to plug fiscal gaps and ensure value for money.

Responding to a question from ZimCitizen on the sidelines of the ongoing 2027 National Pre-Budget Seminar in Bulawayo, Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said Treasury had instituted new rules requiring any contract above US$2 million from any government ministry to be approved by Treasury.

“We have mentioned the issue of over-contracting by ministries. We have put in some rules of the game to say that any contract above $2 million from any government ministry ought to be approved by Treasury, just to make sure that we stay within reasonable limits in terms of budgeting and we see value for money,” Prof Ncube said.

“We are beginning to see compliance across the various ministries and that is encouraging. If we don’t do that, it becomes difficult to request further support from Parliament if our systems do not demonstrate that value for money and that spirit of living within our means. It makes it easier — remember this is taxpayers’ money — and it becomes easy to speak to the public.”

Prof Ncube also addressed debt restructuring, declining to disclose figures but confirming that a substantial portion had already been restructured, with a March deadline set for completion.

He defended Zimbabwe’s cash-budget framework, which he said limits disbursements because government spends only what it collects.

“We don’t have the luxury of external resources, social resources to borrow to run our government,” he said, noting that other countries without arrears can borrow offshore.

“We build all our roads literally using our own cash. It’s only now, literally in the last few months, that we’ve been able to secure decent support, even from the banking sector in terms of borrowing,” he said, citing road projects such as the Gweru–Kwekwe and Terra Force schemes.

On drought preparedness, Prof Ncube said Treasury was building grain stocks to 600,000 metric tons to support vulnerable citizens under El Niño conditions, with resources set aside in both this year’s and next year’s budgets. Government would also purchase insurance to fund cash transfers once drought occurs.

He said growth is projected at 5% this year, easing to 3.5% in 2027 owing to El Niño.