Government announces austerity measures to rein in deficit
The finance ministry has slashed travel budgets, imposed a freeze on appointments, and ordered government offices to close by 2:30pm as it struggles to meet ambitious revenue targets.
25 Sep 2016, 9:00 AM
The finance ministry has slashed travel budgets, imposed a freeze on appointments, and ordered government offices to close by 2:30pm as it struggles to meet ambitious revenue targets.
The austerity measures, now an annual occurrence, were announced Thursday in a bid to “to reduce the budget deficit and ensure that important development projects proceed as planned,” the ministry said in an announcement.
Unlike previous years, development projects will not be put on hold, but all other capital expenses still require permission from the ministry.
The parliament, dominated by the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives, passed a record budget of MVR27.5billion (US$1.7billion) for 2016. Some MVR22.8billion (US$1.47billion) was expected in revenue, of which MVR13.8billion (US$896million) was to be raised through taxes and MVR4billion (US$260million) through new revenue measures.
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