The structural deficit at the end of June amounted to Lm97.4 million compared to a shortfall of Lm113.7 million in June 2003.

This decrease would seem to point at the importance of prudence in claiming policy successes before the full term of the year has passed.

During the first half of the year, government saw a comparative increase of Lm16.9 million in recurrent revenue mainly due to higher revenue from Income Tax (Lm5.2 million) and from VAT (Lm7.7 million). There was also an additional Lm9 million as signing-on fees received following the privatisation of the Lotteries.

Recurrent expenditure for the same period increased by Lm7.3 million while capital expenditure decreased by Lm10.5 million.

Government debt outstanding at the end of June stood at Lm1,333 million, a Lm145.9 million increase from June 2003