The Parliament has approved the annual state budget of MVR 56.6 billion as proposed by the government.
At today's session, when the budget was put up for a vote, 70 out of the 81 MPs present voted in favor of approving the budget while 11 voted against the budget.
During the budget debate, the ruling PNC members said that next year's budget will achieve the government's objectives and implement projects in all islands. They described the budget as one that would overcome the financial problems.
The opposition MDP members are concerned that the budget does not detail individual projects. Opposition members also criticized the low amount allocated for subsidies.
The government expects to receive MVR 39.8 billion in revenue and grants next year. In a further breakdown, the government stated that this includes MVR 37.2 billion as revenues and MVR 2.6 billion as grants.
At the same time, the government estimates that it will spend MVR 49.2 billion next year. This includes MVR 12.4 billion for PSIP, MVR 13.4 billion for capital expenditure, and MVR 35.8 billion for recurrent expenditure.
This was also the year in which the government presented the lowest deficit in recent years. The budget deficit stood at MVR 9.4 billion this year as against MVR 13.4 billion last year. The government expects the budget deficit to be reduced in the coming years.
