Minister of Finance Dr. Mohamed Shafeeq has announced that the government will save USD 323 million from this year's budget by implementing reforms in government-owned companies to reduce operating costs. The announcement was made during a press conference where the Minister highlighted the Ministry's key accomplishments over the past six months.
Finance Minister Dr. Shafeeq emphasised that the government is committed to increasing revenue through expenditure reductions. He noted that the Ministry of Finance is regularly reviewing the financial statements of over 25 government-owned companies to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, the amount of subsidies provided to these companies is being reduced as part of the reform measures.
Currently, there are 32 government-owned or state-owned companies undergoing these reforms. The finance minister assured that these measures would bring significant savings to the state budget.
In the first six months, the government has disbursed USD 371 million to the private sector and USD 414 million to government institutions. With the new cost-cutting measures, the state budget is projected to save at least USD 323 million this year.
Furthermore, the minister also addressed the issue of unpaid bills that had accumulated to hundreds of millions before the current administration took office. The finance ministry is now reforming a budget of USD 3 billion. Had the previous financial trajectory continued, the government would have needed to present a supplementary budget of USD 647 million this year.