An Analysis of the 2013 National Budget Statement and Its Implications for Social Work Practise in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper reviews the 2013 National Budget for Zimbabwe that was presented in Parliament on 15 November 2012. The authors interrogate the extent to which the budget as a policy instrument fosters the developmental agenda. Selected key areas of human development are reviewed. Although estimates of expenditure are a reflection of the national economic policy direction, the current paper shall dwell much on the policy prescription of the budget in the light of scarce resources available in an economy still recovering from a decade of recession. The paper has selected such areas as public sector employment, health, social protection, and agriculture and food security. It is observed that the budget represents a splendid effort to realign the economy and equitably distribute the meager resources in an economy still recovering from a decade of recession. I. Introduction The role of the social work profession in the development of any society is beyond doubt. To this end, social workers have a critical duty to contribute to the development and improvement of social policy. This comes on the hills of the urgent need for the social work profession to adopt a proactive rather than reactive role in social intervention. It is from this conviction that this paper seeks to explore the implications of the 2013 national budget on the alleviation of social distress as well as the enhancement of social functioning in the country. In this light, the paper attempts to give an assessment of the extent to which the policy prescriptions contained in the 2013 National Budget Statement foster human development and welfare. Due to lack of space and scope, it is not possible to come up with a compendious analysis of the whole budget. However, a few budgetary items, deemed to be of immediate importance to the social work profession shall receive due attention.