Minister of Finance Moosa Zameer has revealed that efforts are underway to propose a supplementary budget of approximately MVR 5 billion to the parliament this year.
During a press conference held this afternoon at the President's Office, alongside Attorney General Ahmed Usham, Zameer disclosed that over MVR 2 billion was spent from the State budget last year without being recorded in the Finance Ministry's system.
This oversight has necessitated the accommodation of MVR 2.5 billion in bills requested for posting in the previous two years within this year's budget. The Minister noted that similar discrepancies may exist across various ministries, and investigations are ongoing with the assistance of the Auditor General's Office.
Once these matters are resolved, Zameer stated that a request for a supplementary budget will need to be submitted, and preparations for this are already in progress.
"The actual amount will be determined after consulting with the cabinet and other stakeholders, including President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. We will finalize this after receiving the Auditor General's report, but we will submit a request," Zameer explained.
This year, the parliament approved a State Budget of MVR 49.8 billion. Previously, the Finance Ministry indicated to the Public Accounts Committee that if current spending trends continued, this year's budget could approach MVR 58 billion.
When questioned about this projection, Zameer responded that, given the fiscal reform measures the government is currently implementing, it will not be necessary to supplement the budget to that extent. He estimates that the supplementary budget request will be around MVR 5 billion but emphasized that the final figure will be confirmed after further discussions.
