Auditor General Warns of Rising Salary Expenditure, Urges Control on Employee Numbers

The Auditor General, Hussain Niyaz, has issued a warning today to control the number of state employees as expenditure on salaries from the state budget continues to increase. The Audit Office made public the technical advice report provided by the Auditor General on the proposed state budget for the upcoming year. While the state has proposed a budget of 59.7 billion rufiyaa for next year, it has allocated 52.6 billion rufiyaa as total annual expenditure by reducing debt repayment and capital and loan funds. This represents a 6.6 percent increase compared to the revised budget estimate for the current year. The budget estimates that expenditure on salaries and allowances of state employees will continue to rise, with 14,420 million rufiyaa allocated for next year. The increase is attributed to changes in salary structures under the pay harmonization policy. The Auditor General's advice noted that the total number of state employees has increased significantly in recent years. Since employee expenditure is the main area of recurrent expenditure in the state budget, the Auditor General emphasized the importance of increasing employee awareness and controlling the number of employees to curb rising costs. The article also noted that allocating jobs in government companies for political purposes has been practiced by all recent governments, leading to an excessive number of political positions, negative effects on productivity and the economy, and a heavy financial burden on the state.