Parliament passes largest annual budget recorded for 2019 at 30.2 bil

The Parliament approved a record MVR 30.2 billion as the annual budget for 2019, on Wednesday.

As the largest budget in the history of Maldives, the figure was passed following a vote amongst the 72 members that attended the session.

Initially, the state budget proposed by Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih rounded off at MVR 29.6 billion and the difference of MVR 600 million was attributed to changes within the budget committee.

According to the research carried out by the committee, the state would receive MVR 300 million more in foreign aid and state revenue than the initially estimated figure of MVR 23 billion.

The committee included additional projects under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and increased funds allocated to some of the government institutions, including MVR 452 million for Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP), MVR 25 million for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MVR 37 million for the Judiciary, MVR 50 million for the Ministry of Higher Education, MVR 31 million for the Parliament, MVR 2 million for the Family Protection Agency and a further MVR 1 million as presidential grants.

Despite disagreements voiced by some lawmakers, no further changes were brought to the proposed budget.

The budget was passed after implementing recommendations made by members of the parliamentary budget review committee. These include suggestions to make preparations to implement an income tax, continue ongoing domestic airport projects, carry out audit reports for government offices and for large-scale projects.

The 2019 State Budget supersedes this year’s MVR 27 billion budget as the largest passed in Maldivian history. It is also the first submitted during the term of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.