Govt cuts spending, saves MVR 585 million
In addition, MVR 87 million has been deposited in the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF).
By
Ahmed Naif
A month into the current fiscal, the government has saved MVR 585 million by cutting expenditure, according to government revenue and expenditure data released by the finance ministry.
The Weekly Fiscal Development data released by the Ministry of Finance shows that as of January 1:
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Revenue and grants - MVR 3.6 billion
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Expenditure - MVR 3.3 billion
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Budget surplus - MVR 585 million
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The government spent MVR 757.1 million more than it received during the same period last year
Statistics show that in the first month of this year, the government meets its recurrent expenditures with monthly revenue. Recurrent expenditure stood at MVR 2.5 billion while revenue stood at MVR 3.6 billion.
President Mohamed Muizzu has pledged to meet monthly recurrent expenses with revenue.
Statistically, the largest reduction in expenditure was on various administrative expenses and PSIP projects or infrastructure development projects. They include:
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MVR 287.5 million for infrastructure development last month; MVR 1.7 billion during the same period last year
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MVR 2.5 billion for recurrent expenditure last month; MVR 3.1 billion last year
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MVR 446.9 million for capital expenditures; last year, MVR 1.9 billion was spent
Salary expenses increased by MVR 58 million
Recurrent expenditure decreased by MVR 544 million this year compared to January last year. However, expenditure on salaries and allowances increased from MVR 900 million to MVR 1 billion.
On the other hand, other administrative expenses were reduced. They include:
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Administrative and operating expenses - reduced from MVR 2.1 billion to MVR 1.4 billion
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Capital expenditures - reduced from MVR 1.9 billion to MVR 446 million
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Loan repayment and interest - MVR 571 million
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MVR 287.5 million for PSIP
In addition, MVR 87 million has been deposited in the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF).
