Rédaction Africa Links 24 with babucarr balajo
Published on 2024-03-06 08:05:00
Finance Minister Seedy Keita provided an update to the National Assembly on the financial expenditures of several key ministries in the country. He highlighted that the ministries of health, foreign affairs, interior, and basic education collectively spent D954 million on personal emoluments and interest payments. Despite efforts to control discretionary spending, the statutory expenditures for personal emoluments and interest payments exceeded their annual budget due to unexpected increases.
Minister Keita pointed out that the total Government of The Gambia (GOG) and Loans and Grants Fund (GLF) expenditure amounted to D20.4 billion, slightly surpassing the annual budget of D20.3 billion. This overage was primarily driven by spending in personal emoluments, with the Ministry of Basic Education leading the pack at D470 million, followed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with D320 million, the Ministry of Interior with D83 million, and the Ministry of Health with D81 million.
Despite these challenges, Minister Keita noted that the budget balance showed a surplus of D1.5 billion, thanks to the overperformance in domestic resource mobilization and budget support disbursements in December.
The consolidated GLF revenue performance for the 2023 fiscal year demonstrated a positive outcome, reaching D21.9 billion compared to a budget of D19.7 billion, reflecting an 11% overperformance. This was driven by improvements in indirect tax collections, particularly VAT receipts on non-oil imports, non-tax revenue, and significant program grants disbursed in late December 2023.
Specifically, domestic revenue performance exceeded expectations, totaling D17.81 billion compared to a budget of D16.89 billion, marking a 5% overperformance. Minister Keita attributed this success to better-than-expected international trade taxes, with a 29% growth in import duties and a 47% growth in import VAT. Non-tax revenue also outperformed expectations by 48%, primarily due to increased customs and excise duties collection by the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) and the sale of Mega Bank, which contributed D701 million.
Additionally, revenue from VAT on both oil and non-oil imports exceeded budget estimates by 220% and 122%, respectively. The enhanced efficiency in tax administration and the systematic reduction of fuel subsidies in 2023 were cited as key factors contributing to this growth.
Overall, Minister Keita highlighted the significant growth in revenue across various tax heads, including a 15% increase in import duties and a 104% growth in non-tax revenue from GRA. Budget support also surpassed expectations by 48%, driven by a strong performance in the December disbursement of budget support amounting to D4,085 million.
In conclusion, Minister Keita’s report underscored the positive financial performance of the Gambian government in 2023, signaling opportunities for continued growth and fiscal stability in the years ahead.
Read the original article on The Standard
