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By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 10 May 2014:
The GNC Finance and Budget Committee announced that the 2014 budget will total LD 58,929,836,579 billion . . .[restrict](Fifty-eight point nine two billion). The budget will now be put forward to the whole GNC for a vote of approval. The 2013 budget was LD 66.86 bn.
By far the largest part of the budget will be chapter one, which is the wages and salaries, totaling LD 18.73 bn. The development and projects section (chapter three) was allocated LD 14 bn (from which LD 3.5 bn will be allocated to the Municipalities). Chapter four, which is the subsidies of food and fuel section of the budget is allocated LD 13.10 bn .
|
2014 Budget |
LD billion |
|
| 1 | Chapter 1 – Wages & salaries |
18.73 |
| 2 | Chapter 2 – Operational expenses |
9.04 |
| 3 | Chapter 3 – Development & projects* |
14.00 |
| 4 | Chapter 4 – Subsidies |
13.10 |
| 5 | Contingency |
1.50 |
| 6 | Emergency+ |
2.55 |
|
Total: |
58.929 |
* LD 3.5 bn from this will be set aside for the Municipalities to spend locally.
+LD 50 million will be set aside from the emergency budget for the GNC.
Last Wednesday, the head of the Budget and Finance Committee, Abdullah Mohamed said that the 2014 budget will have a deficit of LD 10 billion. However, he added that the deficit could be overcome by the possible “rationalization of spending” and a possible “oil revenues growth” once the state had attained full control of oil fields and ports.
Furthermore, Mohamed revealed that Libya’s oil revenues had reached only LD 34.7 billion and non-oil revenues reached LD 4.5 billion.
With an eye on the important security situation in Libya, Mohamed also revealed that the 2014 budget had also allocated LD 2.574 billion for the Ministry of Interior and 3.159 for the Ministry of Defense.
Mohamed confirmed that the budget bill would be presented to the GNC next Sunday for approval.
It is interesting to see that the government has been able to keep some control over the wages and subsidies sectors of the budget. Moreover, it will be very encouraging for foreign contractors, as well as the IMF/World Bank and many progressive Libyans to see that the GNC has actually allocated a development budget (chapter three) of LD 14 bn.
There was a fear and some talk that the GNC would not bother with a development budget this year, rather preferring to use what little oil revenues it has been able to earn this year on more (politically) pressing issues – including wages, subsidies and security.
It remains to be seen if Libya’s oil revenues return to the pre oil ports blockades of summer 2013 and whether the incumbent government does actually spend the allocated chapter three budget on development and projects. [/restrict]
