Malé, Maldives – The opposition PPM/PNC coalition has decided to propose some amendments to the report prepared by the parliamentary committee on the budget for next year.
The parliamentary group of the opposition coalition issued a press release as the vote on the ambitious MVR 42.8 billion budget for next year is scheduled for today, stating that it will have an adverse impact on the economy.
The opposition said in the statement last night that it has decided to propose an amendment to reduce the budget to MVR 36 billion saying that the government intended to “take money from the people and spend it on the political needs of the government” through the 2023 budget.
The committee’s budget will do more harm to the economy than good, the opposition said in their statement.
The amendment will also propose an increase of MVR 297,474,863 in the fishermen’s subsidy for the direct benefit of the fishermen.
In the statement, the opposition called on all MPs to support the opposition’s reforms to the 2023 budget.
About MVR 29 billion of the budget is spent on salaries of government employees and running offices. The budget for PSIP, development projects and other projects is MVR 14 billion.
While the opposition is also dissatisfied with the budget, MP’s supporting Speaker Mohammed Nasheed have also expressed concern that the budget will increase the government debt. The members also rejected the increase in GST and TGST.
