ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the trends, processes and practices of public budgeting in post-independence Zimbabwe. Analysis of public budgeting over the four decades since independence strongly suggests that the colonial legacy has remained a pervasive subterranean force directly informing and influencing how Zimbabwe addresses the core political questions of who gets what, how and when in the body politic. During the second decade of national budgeting, the state was in economic and fiscal crisis. Various factors impacting public budgeting can be identified and these include: the dominance of the Executive, partisan politics, a large pool of relatively unskilled parliamentarians, and the excessive application of the party whipping instrument, among others. The cash budgeting approach appears to be a suitable one given that Zimbabwe has limited revenue sources. In the long term, efforts must be made to ensure that economic and political stability is achieved, as these have a bearing on public budgetary processes.
