Maldives government on Tuesday proposed a MVR29.6 billion state budget for next year to keep with the increasing annual trend.
Finance minister Ahmed Munavvar presenting the state budget to the parliament on Tuesday explained that the estimated revenue for next year was MVR23 billion leaving the archipelago with a budget deficit of MVR3.7 billion which was 4.1 percent of GDP.
The minister insisted on the need to strengthen its financial system to keep in line with the proposed budget urging the new government to sustain ongoing efforts to achieve the objective.
"As repeatedly highlighted by the World Bank and international financial institutions, a strong financial system was key to stopping corruption and waste in order to reach the milestones set in the budget. In the past few years, the government with the assistance of the World Bank has put in a lot of effort to strengthen the country's financial system," Munavvar explained.
He also said the outgoing government had completed the research on amending existing and introducing new financial laws.
The minister stressed on the need to come up with a sustainable framework to manage the salaries and pensions of state employees pointing out that over MVR40 billion had been spent in the past few years.
