The initial debate on the proposed national budget for 2022 has concluded.
The state has proposed a budget of MVR 36. billion for the upcoming year. An expenditure of MVR 34 billion has been estimated, including MVR 24.8 as recurrent expenditure. The parliament commenced debating the budget on November 8.
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Eva Abdulla announced at Monday's parliament sitting that the debate stage that precedes the presentation of the budget committee's report had concluded. Out of 85 parliamentarians, 70 members expressed their views on the budget. While 15 minutes were allocated for each member, a total of 16 hours and 12 minutes were spent on debating.
The members will get an additional 7 minutes to speak on the committee report. The budget is being reviewed by a joint committee comprising the Parliament's Economic Committee and Public Finance Committee members. The budget report is due on November 18, and the debate on the report is scheduled for November 22.
