The Parliament of the Maldives has passed a budget of USD7.3 million for the Auditor General's Office (AGO) next year. The budget passed with 52 votes in favour.
The AGO proposed a USD8 million budget for 2024. However, the committee approved the USD7.3 million budget after removing the USD675,000 allocated for the increase of dependent allowance for employees. The AGO stated that the increase in the dependent allowance was for professionals and experienced employees.
Additionally, the committee approved the budget with USD4.8 million allocated for recurrent and capital expenditure, which is a reduction compared to the proposed USD5.3 million. The committee also approved a USD2.5 million budget for the new AGO office building.
A USD6 million was initially approved for AGO this year. However, the budget increased to USD8 million after the AGO had to relocate from the Ghaazee Building after the government decided to demolish it due to unsafe conditions.