The overall balance of the state budget reached a surplus of MVR 1.1 billion as of 22nd of this month, as the expenditure was reduced by 17.9 percent as compared to the same period last year.
According to the Weekly Fiscal Development Report released by the Finance Ministry, MVR 13.7 billion was utilised from the state budget as of last week, down 17.9 percent from the same period last year. Recurrent expenditure declined by 3.8 percent while capital expenditure declined by 64.2 percent.
The report noted that 60.9 percent of the recurrent expenditure was spent on administrative running of state offices. This amount is 8.7 percent lower than the amount spent on similar expenditure during the same period last year. The amount utilised for procuring office supplies declined by 70.3 percent while repairs and maintenance expenditure declined 27.1 percent. Similarly, the state budget spending on transportation declined by 15.7 percent compared to the previous year.
Although these expenditures have been reduced, expenditure on national health insurance scheme Aasandha, service procurement and loan services has been higher during the period compared to the previous year.
As of last week, MVR 1.4 billion was utilised from the state budget on capital expenditure. Including expenditure on roads, bridges and airports, MVR 1.2 billion has been spent on infrastructure assets this year. This is 10.5 percent of the estimated expenditure on such activities in the budget approved by the Parliament for this year.
While a budget of MVR 12.4 billion has been allocated for Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP) this year, MVR 1.4 billion has been utilised for the purpose thus far this year. A large percentage of PSIP expenditure during the same period last year was spent on land reclamation and road construction projects. However, the bulk of the PSIP expenditure during the current year has been spent on various projects related to addressing travel difficulties. A total of MVR 801.1 million has been spent on such projects this year.
The total expenditure on such PSIP projects has been reduced as a result of the the government’s efforts to strengthen various policies related to PSIP this year, the Ministry of Finance said.
