Ministry of Finance has stated state institutions must seek the permission of the ministry before going ahead with any recovery expenses beyond USD 2,272.
In a circular signed by Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer, the ministry stated instructions have been given from the President’s Office to ensure all expenses incurred to overcome the damages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic must be incurred in a way that minimises damages to the state. In this regard, the ministry stated an expenditure from a state institution that is aimed at overcoming the damages of COVID-19 and exceeds USD 2,272 has to be approved by the finance ministry beforehand, starting from March 29.
The finance ministry instructed state institutions to submit the relevant documents for approval before going ahead with the expenditure. The ministry added the decision to approve or reject the expenditure will be made by a committee that includes officials from the President’s Office, Ministry of Health, and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in addition to the finance ministry.
The government has decided to reduce state expenditure up to USD 64.9 million as part of the efforts to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures are being taken to reduce state travels, renovation as well as operational expenses. In addition, the government has decided to reduce the wages of parliamentarians and senior officials of independent institutions by 20%.