The Parliament on Wednesday passed the proposed state budget for 2022.
On October 31, the Finance Ministry proposed an MVR 36.92 billion budget for parliament consideration. However, the budget committee reviewed the figures and increased the budget to MVR 36.99 million, adding MVR 73.8 million to the budget. From the additional funds, MVR 57.4 million was allocated for PSIP projects in 82 islands. MVR 16.4 million was allocated as the Finance Ministry's Special Budget, the Parliament, and some independent institutions.
A vote was taken on the revised budget during Wednesday's Parliament sitting. While 64 members voted to approve the budget, eight representing the opposing coalition voted against it.
The government expects to receive MVR 24.3 billion as grants, and the committee approved the amount. While the proposed budget estimates an expenditure of MVR 34 billion, the number has been revised to MVR 34.10 billion with the additional funds added into the budget.
The budget allocated for some entities:
The Parliament - MVR 7 million
The Anti-Corruption Commission - MVR 3.9 million
Ombudsperson's Office for Transitional Justice - MVR 2.2 million
Civil Service Commission - MVR 1.69 million
Family Protection Authority - MVR 865,636
Department of Judicial Administration - MVR 500,000
Information Commissioner's Office - MVR 204,000
Ministry of Finance's Special Budget - MVR 73,782
The budget for the upcoming year has a deficit of MVR 9.7 billion, which is 11.1 percent of the GDP. An additional MVR 13.4 billion is needed to finance next year's budget. The amount includes the budget deficit of MVR 9.7 billion, MVR 2.9 billion for loan repayment, MVR 769.2 million transferred to the Sovereign Development Fund, and another MVR 35.7 million that the administration must finance in other ways. The government plans to secure up to MVR 7.5 billion from foreign parties and MVR 5.9 billion from local parties.
