Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has submitted the proposed State Budget for 2023 to the Parliament of the Maldives. The government proposed USD2.76 billion for the year 2023.
Presenting the budget, Minister Ameer said the main objective of next year's budget is to fulfill the promises made by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih which aims to facilitate the resolution of many basic issues that have not been resolved for a long time, improving the quality of services needed by the people and to prove the capability of social and economic revolutionary changes.
Highlighting details of the state budget, Minister Ameer said USD2.63 billion of the budget is indicated to be expenditure while USD1.85 billion is indicated to be recurrent expenditure. Meanwhile, he noted that USD 915 million is allocated as capital expenditure and the majority of the budget-expenditure gap includes the USD136 million to be utilised for loan repayment.
Furthermore, Minister Ameer said USD837 million is allocated for salaries and pensions, USD363 million is allocated for recurrent expenditures such as procurement of goods and services as well as transportation and repairs, and USD428 allocated is allocated for subsidies and assistance. He revealed in terms of capital expenditure, the majority is proposed for Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) with USD545 million for development projects.
With fiscal consolidation measures, the budget deficit is expected to be reduced to USD551 million next year. Minister Ameer said USD746 million would be required to cover the deficit and debt and also to finance the budget including the transfer of the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF). He expressed the economy will surpass the pre-COVID-19 level and the state revenue will also increase in 2023. He added the government is expected to receive USD2.08 billion in revenue and grants next year.