Oman trims public spending by 11 pct in '16 budget
Date
1/2/2016 10:07:22 PM
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) MUSCAT Jan 2 (KUNA) -- The Sultanate of Oman announced on Saturday the state budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 with revenues totally 8.6 billion Omani riyals (some USD 22.26 billion). An OMR equals USD 2.6.The oil revenues are expected to hit OMR 6.15 billion or 72 percent of the total revenues while the non-oil revenues will represent the remaining 28 percent or OMR 2.45 billion according to a press release by the Ministry of Finance.The actual revenues are estimated at OMR 8.9 billion which is 23 percent down from the figure envisaged in the state budget.The public spending is estimated at OMR 11.9 billion which is less by OMR 1.5 billion or 11 percent than the actual spending of the just-ending fiscal year.The actual public spending will total OMR 13.4 billion compared with OMR 14.1 billion last year thus saving nearly five percent as a precaution for further lows in oil prices.Whereas the budget deficit is expected to shrink from OMR 4.5 billion in 2015 to OMR 3.3 billion in the new fiscal year.The decline in the revenues is attributable to successive lows in the prices of oil and gas which represented 78 percent of the Sultanate's total revenues but went down by 24 percent last year while the non-oil revenues represented 22 percent and went down by 21 percent.The current expenditure of government bodies is estimated at OMR 4.7 billion representing 35 percent of the total public spending while the appropriations for defense and security will hit OMR 3.7 billion or 28 percent.The appropriations for development projects are estimated at OMR 1.8 billion 14 percent of the total public spending while subsidies for public utilities including energy will account for OMR 0.9 billion or seven percent.Miscellaneous expenses including government contributions to local regional and international organizations are allocated OMR 200 million or one percent of the total spending.Preliminary statistics show that the actual budget deficit of FY 2015 spiraled to OMR 4.5 billion which is higher by 80 percent that the initially-envisaged figure due to losses in oil prices.The government had to fill the budget gap through lending which grew by 47 percent from local and foreign creditors in the form of treasury bonds and commercial loans. Withdrawals from the financial reserves also grew by 53 percent. (end) ahr.gb
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