ED’s travel budget dwarfs key ministries’ allocations

TRAVEL costs for the Office of the President and Cabinet, though slashed by half from the previous regime’s uncontrolled travel budget that kept former President Robert Mugabe “airborne”, remain too high compared to budget allocations for line ministries that are expected to lead the country’s economic revival.

According to the 2018 estimates of expenditure tabled before Parliament by Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, travel expenses for the OPC were slashed by $15 million to $17 million.

Records from the estimates of expenditure (Blue Book) show that between January and September 2017, the OPC had gobbled $32 113 258 in travel expenses.

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