Azlan Othman
The proposed budget for the financial year 2023-2024 is BND5.96 billion, an increase from previous year’s BND5.7 billion.
This was said by Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah during the 19th session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) yesterday.
Of the budget, BND2.19 billion is allocated for wages, allowances and deposit payments and BND2.21 billion for recurring expenditure and BND500 million for projects under the 11th National Development Plan (RKN 11).
The minister said forecasted revenue for the year is BND2.99 billion where BND2.03 billion is from the oil and gas (O&G) sector and BND952.37 million from non-O&G sector.
The breakdown of non-O&G revenue is BND335.5 million from taxes; BND323.27 million from fees and rent; BND236.28 million from return on investment and deposits; and BND40.49 million from statutory bodies.
The figure shows a budget deficit of BND2.97 billion for 2023-2024 based on current economic situation.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew said the government revenue for fiscal year 2021-2022 increased 132.5 per cent to BND4.77 billion compared to the previous year due to the increase in oil prices averaging around USD70 per barrel in 2021.
Government expenditure also increased 9.2 per cent to BND5.78 billion, hence reporting a deficit of BND1.01 billion for financial year 2021-2022.
For 2022-2023, the Sultanate’s revenue is forecast to be BND6 billion, also due to increase in oil prices while government expenditure is estimated to be BND5.9 billion compared to BND5.7 billion allocated for the year.
Based on current projections, the government will record a budget surplus for fiscal year 2022-2023.
Meanwhile, the RKN 11 has been extended for another year for the ministries to complete projects under implementation and time to review plans for the RKN 12.
