Government Spending Down 15% Amid Fiscal Reforms

The Maldivian government has successfully reduced its total expenditure by 15.3% so far this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance. The latest weekly fiscal report shows the state spent MVR 30.5 billion as of October 16th, with the reduction primarily driven by a significant 58.1% decrease in capital expenditure. Meanwhile, recurrent spending saw only a slight decline of 0.2%. Within recurrent expenditures, 59.1% went toward administrative operations of government offices, which saw a 2.9% reduction from last year. Specifically, spending on office supplies dropped by 13%, and costs for repairs and maintenance decreased by 3.3%. However, compensation for public sector workers increased, with MVR 10.8 billion spent on salaries and pensions compared to MVR 10.2 billion during the same period last year. — Source fragments: