Muscat: Oman on Thursday announced that the size of public spending approved in the State General Budget for 2014 amounts to around 13.5 billion Omani riyals (Dh128.7 billion), marking an increase ratio of 5 per cent above last year’s approved spending, Oman News Agency (ONA) said.
Darwish Bin Esmail Al Beloushi, Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs, said that the State’s total revenues for 2014 amount to 11.7 billion riyals, with a growth rate of 4.5 per cent compared to last year’s approved revenues. Therefore, the deficit for the year 2014 (calculated on the basis of an oil price of $85/barrel is at 1.8 billion riyals, forming 15 per cent of revenues and 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs further said, during the press conference held on Thursday to announce the major features of the State General Budget for 2014, that with respect to public spending components, current expenses of about 8.7 billion riyals represent 65 per cent of total public spending, while salaries and wages amounting to 5 billion riyals represent 37 per cent of total public spending.
Al Beloushi added that investment expenditures amount to nearly 3.2 billion riyals, amounting to 24 per cent of the overall public expenditure are to cover spending on development projects and capital expenses for the production of oil and gas, while subsidy expenses amount to 1.4 billion riyals, 10 per cent of overall public expenditure.
He explained that oil revenues represent 83 per cent of total revenues, while non-oil revenues form the remaining 17 per cent, of which almost 50 per cent is the estimated collection from taxes and fees.
The Minister also talked about the approved spending for social sectors in the Budget saying that the General Budget 2014 includes allocations at a sum of about 9.2 billion riyals to meet social requirements in such field as education, health, housing, training, subsidy and other social services, compared to 8.7 billion riyals in last year’s budget, an increase of 465 million riyals and a growth rate of 5.3 per cent.
He pointed out that these allocations will address the following areas: education sector, with an amount of 2.6 billion riyals, constituting a ratio of 18.6 per cent of the total public expenditure, internal and external training programmes with an amount of 95 million riyals and health sector, amounting to 1.3 billion riyals, 9 per cent of the total public expenditure.
Al Beloushi added that allocations of social security and welfare stood at 133 million riyals to cover pensions and social welfare while the housing sector, with an amount of 2.8 billion riyals, of which a sum of 138 million riyals for the human assistance programme supervised by the Ministry of housing, which include building houses across the Sultanate’s wilayats and the provision of soft housing loans, in addition to an amount of 80 million riyals to Oman’s Housing Bank’s Housing loans Programme.
He explained that allocations for subsidies and exemptions stood at 1.8 billion riyals, which include subsidies for interests on housing and development loans, electricity, water, fuel and some basic food commodities.
