Auditor General Hussain Niyazi has advises the government to begin next year's development projects after guaranteeing funds from state revenue and free aid. He made the statement in a meeting held to discuss the proposed state budget for 2022 with the Parliamentary Budget Committee.
During the meeting, Auditor General Niyazi noted the debt would rise further if the government were to begin the proposed projects and programmes before receiving the estimated funds from state revenue and free aid. The government has proposed a USD 2.4 billion state budget for 2022 with an estimated expenditure of USD 2.2 billion and USD 188 million allocated to repaying debts. The proposed budget also consists of a USD 628 million deficit, which is 11% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
During the meeting, Auditor General Niyazi expressed concern over state-owned enterprises not repaying loans issued by the government and said state-owned enterprises collectively owe the government USD 59 million. However, Niyazi said the upgrade in the country's credit rating is a positive sign and an opportunity to manage the state budget.
He also raised concern over the USD 628 million deficit in the budget as well as the USD 45 million allocated for new revenue measures and USD 19 million for the national health insurance scheme. He warned the budget deficit would rise by USD 65 million if the government began projects and programmes before guaranteeing the funds.
Auditor General Niyazi highlighted that the Ministry of Finance is continually working to prevent further raising the debt and advised the government to focus on managing expenditure next year to reduce debt.