Public expenditure for first eight months 13.5 percent higher than last year

Statistics have shown that public expenditure for the first eight months of 2012 was 13.5 percent higher than that for the corresponding period of 2011.

The Department of Planning has revealed that public expenditure in the first eight months of 2011 was MVR7.8 billion, while that for the same period this year was MVR8.3 billion.

However, expenditure declined by 12.7 percent in August 2012 when compared with July 2012. It also declined by 2.9 percent in August 2012 when compared with August 2011.

Also, revenue in August 2012 increased by 14 percent compared with July 2012, and by 7.9 percent when compared with August 2011.

The Government Revenue and Expenditure statement published weekly by Finance Ministry shows that current government revenue stands at MVR7.7 billion, while expenditure is at MVR9.8 billion. Current budget deficit is at MVR2.1 billion.