By The government’s primary goal is to present a surplus budget for 2028, the Finance Ministry has announced, Deputy Minister Ahmed Saeed Musthafa stated at a news conference that the government aims to cover expenditures with revenue.
He noted that the primary balance was negative at MVR 201 million after deducting expenditures from revenue up to this month. However, the primary balance was negative at MVR 2.6 billion last year.
“The president has instructed the finance ministry to submit a plan to manage the economy. The plan has already been submitted, and the president has instructed the finance ministry to present a surplus budget in 2028. By doing so, the debt stock will improve,” he said.
Saeed emphasized that the government is prioritizing spending cuts. Without these cuts, an additional supplementary budget of MVR 10 billion would need to be submitted to Parliament by the end of this year.
“Our models show that the budget will cost MVR 60 billion. The budget states that MVR 14 billion of funding is unmet, and if this figure rises to MVR 25 billion, it will further burden the people,” he said.
Saeed indicated that if expenditures exceed the financial situation, the government will need to seek funding from other countries, which also brings additional challenges.
“The overall balance had a deficit of MVR 1.8 billion in expenditure till May, compared to MVR 4.5 billion last year. This represents an improvement of MVR 2.7 billion year-on-year,” he said.
Saeed stated that the government is focusing on covering expenditures with revenue and setting top priorities for spending. The government has already paid MVR 2.5 billion to repay its debts, with MVR 1.6 billion being interest on previous debt. The budget also allocates MVR 8.5 billion and provides for the sale of an additional $50 million in bonds for budget financing.