The government has spent a total of MVR 48.3 billion for state expenditure and loan repayments so far this year, according to the Ministry of Finance’s latest data, released on 19 December. This marks an increase of MVR 1.9 billion from the MVR 46.4 billion spent during the same period in 2023.
Although overall spending has risen, the government’s fiscal challenges have resulted in a slowdown of several development initiatives. Consequently, public sector investment has decreased. The Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) expenditure dropped to MVR 10.3 billion this year, MVR 1.1 billion lower than the MVR 11.4 billion allocated during the same period last year.
Despite this, recurrent expenditure continued to rise, increasing from MVR 30.2 billion in 2023 to MVR 32 billion this year. This increase was largely driven by higher spending on salaries, wages, and pensions, which grew by MVR 1.4 billion. Additionally, administrative and operational expenses rose by MVR 737 million. However, capital expenditure saw a slight reduction, with MVR 13.9 billion spent this year compared to MVR 14.1 billion in the previous year.
On the revenue side, the government generated MVR 32.7 billion, an increase over the MVR 32 billion collected during the same period last year. This growth was primarily due to a rise in tax revenue, which totalled MVR 24.9 billion, compared to MVR 22.8 billion in 2023.
Nevertheless, non-tax revenue saw a decline, falling to MVR 7.3 billion, down by MVR 877 million compared to the previous year. Grant aid also dropped, with the government receiving MVR 612 million this year, MVR 170 million less than the grants received during the same period in 2023.
The state budget for 2024 has been set at MVR 49.9 billion. In October, the parliament approved a supplementary budget of MVR 5.1 billion, bringing the total budget for the year to MVR 55 billion.
