Record budget submitted on behalf of president-elect

The finance ministry on Wednesday submitted to parliament a record budget of MVR29.6 billion (US$1.9 billion) for next year.

The 2019 budget was prepared by the incoming administration of president-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. It was submitted to parliament without any changes, finance ministry officials told the media.

The finance ministry asked Solih’s transition team to submit a budget following the joint opposition candidate’s decisive victory in September’s presidential election.

The new president’s first budget is about MVR3 billion higher than the record MVR27.9 billion (US$1.8 billion) budget passed for 2018.

The budget document has not been made public yet.

According to the Public Finance Act, the annual state budget with details of estimated expenditure and revenue must be submitted for parliamentary approval by the end of October.

The finance ministry narrowly missed the deadline, sending the budget over hours after it was submitted by the president-elect’s team.

The parliamentary debate is expected begin next week.

Following evaluation by a review committee, the budget is likely to be put to a vote before parliament breaks for recess at the end of November.

Solih is due to take the oath of office on November 17.