People's Majlis Adjourns Budget Debate Early Due to Lack of Speakers

The People's Majlis adjourned today's session early after no further members requested to speak on next year's budget, which was submitted to the parliament for approval. The session, which began at 2:00 PM instead of the usual morning time, lasted approximately two hours. Ahmed Salim, who presided over the session, noted that nearly eight days had been allocated for the budget debate and urged members to request speaking opportunities promptly to finalize the budget by a specific date. “However, since no one has requested an opportunity yet, I will now conclude today’s session of the Majlis,” he said. The session was paused earlier due to President Muizzu meeting with journalists regarding the submission of four bills to the Majlis, including a bill to grant land in Malé to Eagle Hills and a reputation bill. Finance Minister Hassan Zareer, who was present in the Majlis along with ministry officials, has submitted a budget proposal of MVR 59.7 billion for next year. This is MVR 4.5 billion less than the MVR 64.2 billion budget approved for this year. Despite the overall reduction, state expenditures for next year are projected at MVR 52.6 billion, an increase of MVR 3.3 billion. Recurrent expenditures are allocated MVR 42.7 billion, while development project spending has risen to MVR 9.9 billion. The budget deficit for next year is projected to reach MVR 9.4 billion, a 25 percent increase over the deficit expected at the end of this year. The decrease in the total budget is attributed to a reduction in debt repayment to MVR 4.5 billion. The committee studying the budget has decided to finalize it before the 19th of this month.