HARARE — The Office of the President and Cabinet spent ZiG17 billion in the first half of 2026 against a ZiG12 billion annual allocation, exceeding its approved budget by 43%, Parliament was told Tuesday.
Opposition MP Madzivanyika raised the issue during debate on the 2026 Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review, arguing that Treasury should have returned to Parliament for additional spending authority.
“The Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) has exceeded its authorised budget by a staggering 43%. Parliament initially allocated 12 billion to OPC, yet the Minister has spent 17 billion within the same half-year period,” he said.
Madzivanyika said the Constitution required the finance minister to seek supplementary appropriations where expenditure exceeded amounts approved by Parliament.
“The law is unequivocal in Section 305 (5). When expenditures are incurred without prior appropriation, the Minister is required to seek a supplementary budget for any additional spending needs,” he said.
MP Edwin Mushoriwa separately said the OPC had used 143% of its annual allocation by June 30, while Parliament had used 19%, the Auditor-General 14%, the Health Ministry 33% and Primary and Secondary Education 35%.
“These figures expose the selective budget implementation rather than faithful implementation of Parliament’s Appropriation Act,” Mushoriwa said.
“In other words, the Treasury is rewriting the Appropriation Act through cash disbursements.”
Mushoriwa said the OPC had previously explained that some expenditure recorded under its vote related to spending on behalf of other ministries and agencies, but questioned why those funds were not channelled through the respective ministries.
