Housing ministry runs out of MVR 5.4b budget allocation
Attempts to reach the ministry for comment were unsuccessful.
By
Ahmed Naif
The budget of MVR 5.4 billion allocated to the housing ministry has been exhausted in the first seven months of the year.
The housing ministry, which oversees the largest number of infrastructure development projects, has spent the largest share of the budget so far among government offices, according to the finance Mmnistry's expenditure and revenue data released on Wednesday. They include:
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The ministry spent MVR 5.2 billion; a budget of MVR 5.3 billion was allocated
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The ministry’s budget has a balance of MVR 113 million; 97.7% of budget spent
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The ministry has spent MVR 742.9 million per month on average
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As such, the ministry still needs MVR 3.7 billion this year
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The ministry has spent MVR 5.2 billion so far this year, an increase of MVR 2 billion over the MVR 3.2 billion spent in the same period last year
The ministry's expenditure increased this year due to increased expenditure on Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). They include:
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MVR 6.6 billion has been spent on PSIP; MVR 2.2 billion more than last year
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77% of the MVR 8.5 billion allocated for PSIP has been spent
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The balance in PSIP is MVR 1.9 billion
An official from the finance ministry could not be reached for comment on the almost exhausted budget allocated to the housing ministry. Attempts to reach the ministry for comment were unsuccessful.
As this year's budget also predicts, the PSIP expenditure is likely to increase significantly as this is an election year.
Last year, the housing ministry had to increase its budget by MVR 926.9 million due to the exhaustion. Last year, a supplementary budget had to be passed at a cost of MVR 5.6 billion.
