Barbs and boycotts as record budget sails through committee
The finance minister said the government would prioritize development projects in the constituencies of lawmakers who voted for the budget.
20 Nov 2017, 9:00 AM
A record budget of MVR27.9 billion (US$1.8 billion) was approved Monday without any cuts by a parliamentary committee after opposition lawmakers boycotted meetings.
The budget was approved thanks to the votes of 12 politicians aligned with the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) with only one change – to a public sector investment project for an island. The budget will now be sent to the parliament floor for a vote.
The opposition boycotted the committee meetings after ruling party MPs proposed to limit debate time for the budget, but the suggestion was not considered for a vote.
According to the proposed 2018 budget, the government will spend MVR24.9 billion and collect MVR22.4 billion as revenue. The deficit of MVR2.5 billion would be 3.2 percent of GDP.
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