Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has revealed the main aim of the supplementary budget is to allocate finances to achieve the pledges made to the people.
Speaking at the Parliamentary Committee on Budget, Finance Minister Ameer said the supplementary budget would assist in achieving the pledges included in the manifesto and improve the conditions of the citizens across the country.
The administration has submitted a USD 110 million supplementary budget for parliament approval. The items included in the supplementary budget include addition funds to key projects initiated by the administration. In this regard, USD 19.365 million was included to provide scholarships as part of the efforts of the administration to provide higher education opportunities to youth, USD 5.228 million to finance the school breakfast programme, USD 18.977 million to develop tertiary-level hospitals in 5 areas of the country and USD 9.682 million to continue the projects on hold at Hulhumale' Hospital.
Furthermore, USD 1.207 million was included as budget for newly formed institutions under newly ratified laws and amendments. A further USD 22.592 million was included in the supplementary budget for SME Development Finance Corporation (SDFC) and another USD 12.225 million to provide subsidies for state-owned enterprises. Meanwhile, USD 6.067 million provided by the Government of India as grant aid was included in the supplementary budget.
At the committee, the finance minister revealed the plans, policies and the vision to achieve the targets pledged by the administration. The minister also outlined the administration spent only 50 percent of the state budget in the first 8 months of the year, adding the development projects earmarked will be launched as planned before the end of the year.
The parliament passed a state budget of USD 1.949 billion for 2019. When the supplementary budget is approved, the state budget will amount to USD 2.059 billion and the budget deficit will increase to USD 316 million.
So far, the administration has spent USD 852 million from the state budget and has received over USD 122 million as foreign aid during the first half of the year.