From a surplus to 35% deficit.. The cessation of oil exports hits the government budget
English - Thursday 13 April 2023 الساعة 01:27 pm
Mocha, NewsYemen, exclusive:
Official documents revealed that the government budget in Aden registered a cash deficit of 35% during the first half of this year, due to the halt in oil exports due to the Houthi terrorist militia attacks.
The documents refer to the minutes of a government meeting in Aden at the beginning of this month, in which the spending plan for the first half of the current two years (January-June) 2023 for the state's general budget units was approved.
The plan estimated that the expected volume of public resources during the first half of this year would reach about 849 billion Yemeni riyals, and estimate public uses (expenditure) at about one trillion and 322 billion Yemeni riyals, with a net cash deficit of 472 billion riyals.
By comparing these figures with the numbers contained in the reports issued by the Central Bank in Aden last year for the first half of 2022, it becomes clear the extent of the damage caused by the cessation of oil exports to the budget.
While the spending plan reveals that the budget for the first half of this year recorded a cash deficit amounting to about 35% of spending, the bank’s report for the first half of last year 2022 was talking about the budget achieving a cash surplus amounting to 120 billion Yemeni riyals.
Where the bank’s report indicated that revenues for the first half of 2022 amounted to about 1222 billion riyals, divided between 836 billion riyals oil revenues and 386 tax and customs revenues, offset by expenses amounting to about 1101 billion riyals.
What is remarkable is the noticeable increase in the expenditure item for the first half of this year compared to last year, despite the cessation of oil revenues and the budget recording a cash deficit, which reveals a clear imbalance in the government's ability to reduce spending to contain the cash deficit.
As expenditures increased for the first half of this year compared to last year by about 221 billion riyals, half of which were in the wages and salaries section, which rose from about 363 billion to 467 billion riyals.
Attacks launched by the Houthi militia on oil export ports in the liberated governorates caused a complete halt to oil exports since November of last year, which caused the Yemeni government losses of about one billion dollars, according to a previous statement by its president, Maeen Abdulmalik.
