Parliament Budget Committee Greenlights MVR 6.5 Billion Supplementary Budget

The Parliament Budget Committee on Thursday approved MVR 6.5 billion as the supplementary budget for this year.

The supplementary budget, which chiefly aims to augment spending in several areas, contains MVR 3.1 billion earmarked for recurrent expenditure and MVR 3.3 billion for capital expenditure.

While an additional MVR 1.8 billion is allocated for subsidies, the national health insurance programme Aasandha is set to receive an extra MVR 1.2 billion, and a further MVR 1.7 billion is earmarked for Public Sector Investment Projects (PSIPs).

The supplementary budget also includes MVR 6.5 million in line with President-elect Mohamed Muizzu’s electoral pledge to provide financial support for media organisation. The allocation was proposed to the committee by Maradhoo MP Ibrahim Shareef and supported by Eydhafushi MP Ahmed Saleem.

In the lead-up to his election win, Muizzu pledged to allocate a percentage of the state’s budget to address the financial challenges faced by media organisations and to ensure their independence.

With the supplementary budget, if approved by the parliament, the state’s total budget for 2023 would soar to MVR 49.3 billion.