Izah Azahari
The Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE) was prepared with a budget allocation totalling BND1,014,060,440 for the financial year 2023-2024, of which BND215,022,350 is to finance the needs of the ministry and the four departments under it.
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 Legislative Council session yesterday.
Earlier, the minister shared that MoFE plays an important role in making Brunei Darussalam as a country with a dynamic and strong economy, in line with the third goal of Brunei Vision 2035 and the aspirations in the Economic Blueprint.
“Apart from being the main facilitator to ensure that all parties in the government and the private sector are aligned towards the achievement of the aspirations of the Economic Blueprint, the MoFE has also identified efforts that need to be implemented internally to support efforts towards that achievement; as identified in the Strategic Plan 2021-2025 of the MoFE.”
The minister added that the provision that has been prepared will enable MoFE to implement initiatives that support four aspirations in the Strategic Plan of the MoFE – Economic development and diversification; Maintaining fiscal sustainability through the efficient use of government financial allocations; Effective engagement and cooperation with stakeholders; and Excellent service delivery.
“Fiscal strengthening of the government will remain a priority of the MoFE through a prudent policy in managing the budget and finances of the country through fiscal consolidation, and also expanding the national income base in addition to increasing the annual revenue of each ministry.”
However, the minister said a balanced approach must be taken so that the government’s efforts to diversify economic activities and strengthen the private sector will not be hindered, and with continuous concerted efforts with the relevant parties, in addition to the use of technology to simplify processes and improve the quality of service provision, will have a positive impact on the government’s fiscal position in the medium and long term.
Touching on the budget allocation, the minister shared that a total of BND799,038,090 is provided under the miscellaneous services to finance the needs of all ministries and departments.
Under the staff salary category, budget allocations for the MoFE amount to BND61,848,370, among them to fund the payment of salaries, bonuses, allowances and Employees Trust Fund (TAP), Supplemental Contributory Pension (SCP) and National Retirement Scheme (SPK) contributions for 2,126 positions that have been provided.
Under the recurrent expenditure category, BND153,173,980 is provided to finance the needs of the MoFE. While under the heading of miscellaneous services, BND780,855,940 has been provided.
Expanding further on the recurrent expenditure category, the minister explained that BND9.5 million is prepared for asset maintenance to fund repair and maintenance works on assets, equipment and supplies under the MoFE; BND2.86 million is for operational expenses that include financing under the MoFE such as the annual purchase of uniforms and accessories for officers and staff of the Royal Customs and Excise Department; and BND1.17 million under the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics to carry out the Population and Housing Census, the Annual Enterprise/Business Census, the Family Expenditure Survey, the Labour Force Survey and the Quarterly Enterprise Survey.
The minister added that BND28.6 million is provided for information technology among other things to fund the annual MoFE consolidated maintenance and support for six systems amounting to BND16.18 million and Treasury Accounting and Financial Information System (TAFIS) Maintenance and support licence payments including e-Invoice Symantec and Microsoft License amounting to BND4.27 million.
As for the budget allocation under SD09A – Miscellaneous Services prepared for the use of all ministries and departments in need, this includes BND6.9 million provided for operating expenses including BND3.02 million to finance the rental of photocopy machines, to be re-operated by the Treasury Department for all ministries and departments, to facilitate monitoring and control, so that allocations and manpower can be used optimally.
The allocated BND28.7 million is for the provision of education allowances given as benefits to government officials and employees including private special school education allowances for children with special needs amounting to BND1.9 million.
A total of BND216.5 million in miscellaneous expenses is provided to finance expenses such as the renovation of the women’s dormitory under the Brunei Hall building renovation and repair project totalling BND3.34 million with a plan price of GBP19.51 million; for the repair and replacement of air conditioning and chiller systems of the ministries and government departments BND10 million; to fund maintenance costs under the ministries including funding implementation services for the electronic document and case management system amounting to BND538,000 with a plan price of BND2.9 million; replacement and upgrading of equipment and buildings at the International Convention Centre totalling BND630,000; and project to repair and upgrade mosques, suraus and religious centres across the country for 31 mosques amounting to BND2 million with a plan price of BND7.53 million.
Under the spending focus account, a total of BND66.45 million is provided, including BND11.88 million to finance the cost of implementing the new SAP platform under the TAFIS 2.0 project, while BND50 million is allocated for infectious disease outbreaks and to finance the needs in dealing with outbreaks.
Meanwhile, an allocation of BND25 million is provided in expenses for dealing with natural disasters, among others to finance works to raise road levels in areas often affected by floods amounting to BND10 million with a plan price of BND18.8 million.
Under the development expenditure category, BND8.91 million with a plan price of BND264.09 million is allocated, among other things, to finance the Brunei Darussalam Stock Exchange Establishment Project; cluster development project (macroeconomics); Brunei Bay Development Project (Pulau Muara Besar); and the National Business Services Platform.
