Abu Dhabi’s public revenue up 41% in 2011

Abu Dhabi: Total public revenue in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2011 surged by almost 41% driven by higher world oil prices, according the emirate’s Department of Economic Development.

The report about public revenue noted the marked change in the contribution of oil revenues within the structure of public revenue in the emirate, as oil contribution amounted to 90.6 per cent, closer to the levels that prevailed prior to the global financial crisis. This was attributed to the continuous improvement in global oil prices over the past two years, as world oil price per barrel increased from $79.5 (Dh291.76) in 2010 to $ 109.5 in 2011, hiking by approximately 37.7 per cent.

Public finance

In view of the visions of the government of Abu Dhabi, which aims at attaining the highest levels of excellence in various fields of economic and social life, the Department of Finance in Abu Dhabi took the initiative to formulate the Strategic Plan (2011-2015) for setting a sophisticated financial framework based on international standards and practices to ensure the implementation of the initiatives of all government departments and entities in Abu Dhabi.

The rise in the contribution of oil revenues during 2011, was accompanied by a decline in the contribution of other revenues, especially the marked decline in the contribution of capital revenue, which fell from its record contribution of 10 per cent among government revenues in 2010, to 2.9 per cent in 2011; while the contribution of the current revenue of Government Departments dropped from 7.3 per cent in 2010 to 6.5 per cent 2011.

Public expenditure:

The total public expenditure of the government, as data indicate, increased by 14.2 per cent during 2011. Data also reveal that the structure of expenditure items last year, was closely similar to that of previous years. Contribution to federal expenditure, remained the largest item as it constituted 32.2 per cent of total public expenditure during 2012, compared to 30.9 per cent in 2011.

Expenditure on recurrent expenses of government departments took second place in 2011 as it accounted for 26.8 per cent of total public expenditure; while expenditure on aid and loans came in third among items of spending by 25.7 per cent compared to 23 per cent in 2010. It should be noted that expenditure on capital payments registered the highest drop among public spending items last year; as it fell to 6.9 per cent in 2011 compared to 10.3 per cent in 2010.