Minister of Finance Nangolo Mbumba told the National Assembly yesterday that he had a "mysterious statement" to make.

Then, without explanation, he requested lawmakers to bear with him since the introduction of the additional budget had to be postponed.

Minister of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, Helmut Angula, has already revealed that 51 per cent of the money in the additional budget will be used to bail out struggling parastatals.

Angula, who chairs a Cabinet sub-committee on the restructuring of state companies, did not give further details.

The Finance Ministry has for years tried to discourage additional budgets, but without success.

Last year Mbumba introduced what he called a three-year rolling budget aimed at keeping the spending within certain limits. Yet another additional budget was announced before the end of the financial year.

Emphasising the need for financial discipline, Mbumba said in April this year: "In future, neither the Ministry of Finance nor Cabinet intend to bail out ministries or parastatals who fail to live within their ceilings. They will have to fund any changes in pay, personnel or prices from the resources they have been allocated."

Yesterday, his lips were sealed when asked what the additional budget would entail.

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