Ministry of Finance has instructed all government offices and institutions to present the projected baseline budget for the fiscal years of 2021, 2022 and 2023 by the end of August.
The finance ministry issued a circular on July 8, stating efforts are underway to formulate the baseline budget of the state, with the expenditure proposals for the next 3 years. As such, the ministry has requested all government offices to present the respective baseline budget of the office, along with the new policy initiatives and the details of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) projects to the ministry by August 31.
The finance ministry further requested government offices to prioritise economically beneficial activities which can help to recover the local economy hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, when preparing the budget estimates. The ministry also noted all PSIP projects and new recurrent programmes must be part of the Strategic Action Plan of the government.
The ministry further stated as part of efforts to ease the budget process for institutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the budget process will be carried out under a single phase this year. As such, the ministry said the baseline budget, PSIP projects and new recurrent programmes will be finalised under one phase, unlike previous years.
The circular issued by the finance ministry further read failure to present the baseline budget by the set deadline would lead to the administrative budget of the respective institution to be prepared by the finance ministry itself and sent to the Parliament of the Maldives for review.