Committee members support reducing state budget to MVR14 billion

Several members of the Parliament Budget Committee have expressed support during today’s meeting, to remove some expenditures from the 2013 estimated state budget of MVR16.9 billion and reduce it to MVR14 billion.

Members of the Budget Committee, which is made up of members of the Public Accounts Committee and Economic Affairs Committee, discussed the request to include additional MVR900 million in the budget for the expenses of Independent Institutions.

Committee Chairman Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim said during a briefing prior to the commencement of the debate, that while the 2013 budget is worth MVR16.9 billion, the revenue received by the government is MVR10 billion.

Mulaku MP Abdullah Yameen said that the budget should not include additional expenditures on employees or travel, and that those expenditures should be ‘frozen’.

He said that additional expenditures arising from the efforts to expedite the work of Independent Institutions must be taken into account before these efforts are undertaken, and that the government will not be able to proceed with the current estimated budget unless it is cut down to MVR14 billion.

“We are not seeing any value for money…If we look at the PSIP budgets of the Independent Institutions, they can save plenty on their recurrent expenses. I don’t believe that the government will be able to proceed with a budget larger than MVR14 billion. We have to reduce this margin. I don’t believe that work on the Parliament Office building has to begin this year,” he said.

Committee Deputy Chairperson Bilaiydhoo MP Ahmed Hamza said that the budget is already too big, and that even though Independent Institutions are not able to undertake all their projects, permission cannot be given to obtain additional loans to spend from the budget.

Hamza strictly disagreed with the idea of increasing the budget, and said that the budget should not be increased for any Institution other than Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA).

He proposed that expenditures included in the budget should be cut down by 15 percent.

“We have to consider the productivity of the Institutions, and when this is taken into account, I don’t believe that the budgets should be increased for any institution other than MIRA. I don’t support that. I don’t support taking additional loans and allowing the country to go bankrupt, in order to make these expenses,” he said.

Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed said that the budget should not be increased for any institution, and that even from the existing budget, expenses concerning travel and insurance have to be reduced.

He questioned the productivity of employees of Independent Institutions, whose salaries were increased this year.

Riyaz also called to halt the construction projects to be undertaken under the PSIP program, and said that being able to meet expenses using incomes is more important than the construction of new buildings.

Chairman of Public Accounts Committee Ahmed Nazim said that he did not support reducing the budgets of Independent Institutions; however, the budget should by no means be increased either.

He said that based on the work and productivity of Independent Institutions, they should not be provided additional funds.

“The important thing is to allow Finance Ministry to handle the issue of reducing their budgets. If we do that, we will be the ones to blame,” he said.

Eva Abdullah said that she supported increasing the budget of Elections Commission, but did not support increasing the budgets of Media Council and Human Rights Commission.

Fuvahmulah-south MP Abdullah Maseeh said that if Independent Institutions are provided the budge they had requested for, the state budget could reach MVR17 billion.

He said that given the current circumstances, this is not practical; and urged to find areas in the budget where expenditures can be reduced.

Chairman Gasim Ibrahim concluded the morning session of the Committee meeting by announcing that the Finance Minister will be summoned to the Committee to obtain more information on areas where expenditures can be reduced, and to make a decision on the issue of budgets of Independent Institutions.