Gov't readies 2019 state budget law with estimated JD646m deficit

AMMAN — The 2019 draft state budget law saw a rise in domestic revenues to cover 100 per cent of current expenditure, up from 90.8 per cent reestimated value this year.

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, on Wednesday endorsed the draft state budget law for 2019 and budgets of independent public institutions, to be referred to the two Houses of Parliament, estimating total domestic revenues at
JD8.610 billion.

Domestic sources are forecast to cover JD8.010 billion of the revenues while JD600 million would be contributed from foreign grants, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The deficit in the 2019 budget amounted to JD646 million after grants, constituting 2 per cent of GDP, down from JD814 million in the reestimated value for 2018 at 2.7 per cent of GDP.

Before grants, next year’s deficit was estimated at JD1.246 billion, or 4 per cent of GDP, compared with JD1.729 billion of the reestimated deficit in 2018, constituting 5.8 per cent of GDP, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Expenditure for the upcoming year was set at JD9.255 billion, marking a JD437 million or 3.3 per cent increase in the current year’s reestimated value; attributed to the routine annual increase in the salaries of public employees, the increase in allocations of the National Aid Fund, and an upgrade in the share of the healthcare system. 

Current spending was estimated at JD8.013 billion while capital expenditure and capital projects in partnership with the private sector was set at JD1.242 billion.

The draft law estimated an increase in financial solvency indicators for the coming year’s budget coverage for public expenditures from 80.1 per cent reestimated value in 2018 to 86.5 per cent in 2019, according to Petra.

The Cabinet decided to incorporate for the first time the budgets of 29 government units in the state budget, with the aim of “creating a more comprehensive state budget and enhance transparency and accountability over public assets”.

The bill raised the amounts allocated for social safety by JD30 million to reach JD654 million, consequently raising the National Aid Fund’s allocations by JD30 million and health allocation by JD25 million, in addition to an upgrade for Student Support Fund.

As for the budgets of independent public institutions, the revenues of 2019 were estimated at JD1.388 billion with expenditure set at JD1.500 billion; constituting a deficit of JD112 million, Petra reported.