Budget for 2009 has no deficit

Abu Dhabi: There is no deficit in the Dh42.2 billion federal budget for 2009 and the outlay for next year should help add stimulus to the country's economic growth, Younis Haji Al Khouri, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Finance, said on Wednesday.

"Abu Dhabi is the major contributor to the federal budget. It's a balanced budget, there's no surplus and zero deficit," Al Khouri said at a press conference.

"The budget should help in the economic integration of all the emirates."

Other contributors to the federal budget include Dubai, Ministry of Finance and government services, said Al Khouri. However, he didn't provide a breakdown of the contributors.

Al Khouri said that since the 2005 federal budget, the budgetary allocation has increased by almost 100 per cent.

No new taxes or fees will be imposed in the 2009 federal budget, Al Khouri said.

Biggest

The ministry has not issued treasury bonds yet, and the issuance of these bonds for 2010 as per the ministry's strategy for coming years is still under consideration.

"The 2009 budget, the biggest in the history of the UAE, is in line with the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the instructions of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance," Al Khouri said.

Shaikh Mohammad on Tuesday approved the federal budget for 2009. The total outlay of this biggest ever budget is 21 per cent higher than last year's Dh34.9 billion.

A breakdown

In 2009, of the total budgetary outlay for the sectors of the federal budget, 38.3 per cent will be spent on social services, 35.8 per cent on justice and security, 12.9 per cent on social benefits, 5.1 per cent on infrastructure, 3.1 per cent on foreign affairs, 2.4 per cent on financial and fixed investments and 1.6 per cent on economic affairs, said Al Khouri.

The government, however, didn't say where the remaining 0.8 per cent of the budget money would be spent.

Earlier this month, the UAE pumped Dh70 billion into the country's banking system as part of a Dh120 billion package to boost liquidity.

Last week, the government also guaranteed all bank deposits and inter-bank liabilities.

For 2009, the federal budget allocated Dh9.7 billion, or 23 per cent, of the total outlay to education. The income of ministries are projected to grow to about Dh24 million in 2009, up from the Dh7 million recorded in 1999.