Minister of Finance Dr. Mohamed Shafeeg has highlighted the government's commitment to implement policies aimed at reducing expenditure and increasing revenue, starting primarily in the third quarter of 2024. In a briefing to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, he stressed that despite previous announcements, many of these measures were never put into practice.
Minister Shafeeg underscored the increasing recurrent expenditure of the state, particularly due to debt repayments, emphasising that merely repaying debt is not a sustainable solution. He advocated for stringent cost-cutting measures as the optimal approach in the current fiscal climate.
The minister revealed that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has spearheaded a policy to reduce government spending and enhance revenue generation. The reform agenda encompasses 20 key initiatives, outlining seven direct measures to curtail spending, with additional actions planned to achieve medium-term targets.
While aiming to commence these efforts by the third quarter of the year, Minister Shafeeg acknowledged that previous attempts to reduce expenditures in 2022 and 2023 did not materialize as planned. He disclosed that the Cabinet has endorsed a comprehensive strategy to bolster revenue through expenditure cuts, detailing a medium-term approach to achieve financial sustainability.
Minister Shafeeg affirmed the administration's commitment to executing these plans effectively, seeking parliamentary support to ensure their successful implementation.