This amendment requires the finance minister to lay budget estimates before the National Assembly by set deadlines, and requires the National Assembly to approve the budget by 31 December.
Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) [ No. 20 of 2009 217 GOVERNMENT OF ZAMBIA ACT No. 20 of 2009 Enactment Short title Cap. 1 Amendment of Article 117 Date of Assent:28th August, 2009 An Act to amend the Constitution of Zambia [ 31st August, 2009 ENACTED by the Parliament of Zambia. This Act may be cited as the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act, 2009, and shall be read as one with the Constitution of Zambia, in this Act referred to as the Constitution. Article 117 of the Constitution is amended— (a) by the repeal of clause (1) and the substitution therefor of the following clause: (1) The Minister responsible for finance shall, subject to clause (2), cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly, not later than the second Friday of October, before the commencement of the next financial year, estimates of revenue and expenditure of the Government for the financial year. (b) by the insertion after clause (1) of the following new clauses: (2) In any year where a general election takes place and the estimates of revenue and expenditure of the Government for the next financial year cannot be prepared and laid before the National Assembly as specified under clause (1), the Minister responsible for finance shall cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly, within ninety days of the swearing in of the President, estimates of revenue and expenditure of the Government for that financial year. (3) The National Assembly shall, subject to clause (2), approve the budget not later than the thirty first day of December.; and Copies of this Act may be obtained from the Government Printer, P.O. Box 30136, 10101 Lusaka. Price K1,000 each. 218 [ No. 20 of 2009 Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) (c) by the renumbering of clauses (2), (3), (4) and (5) as clauses (4), (5), (6) and (7) respectively. 3. The Constitution is amended by the insertion after Article 118 of the following new Article: 118A. Parliament shall enact budgeting and planning legislation which shall provide for matters that relate to the annual Budget and to medium and long-term development plans. Insertion of new Article 118A Planning and Budgeting Legislation