Data from the government Consolidated Fund for 2006 show that the shortfall between recurrent revenue and total expenditure amounted to Lm57.9 million, an improvement of Lm17.5 million from a deficit of Lm75.3 million for 2005. The improvement was brought about by an increase of Lm48.3 million in recurrent revenue, which was offset in part by an increase of Lm30.8 million in total expenditure, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.
During 2006, revenue from income tax increased by Lm34.8 million, while revenue from social security contributions and from value added tax added Lm6.8 million and Lm6.3 million respectively.
Likewise, miscellaneous receipts increased by Lm11.5 million, mainly on account of revenue from the sale of land, while on the other hand fees of office declined by Lm11.7 million on account of one-off revenue recorded in 2005 (mainly revenue from the allocation of the 3G licences and from the Investment Registration Scheme).
Revenue from grants also declined by Lm7.2 million.
When compared to 2005, recurrent expenditure increased by Lm22.2 million, or 2.9 per cent, from Lm766.0 million to Lm788.2 million. The main contributor to this increase was the programmes and initiative category, which increased by Lm21.9 million compared to 2005.
This increase was mainly brought about by increases in social security benefits (+Lm12.6 million), street lighting (+Lm3.2 million), the repayment of income tax (+Lm4.4 million) and the programme to combat influenza (Lm1.7 million).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs for the year increased by Lm2.6 million, amounting to Lm77.4 million.
Total expenditure under the Capital Programme for 2006 amounted to Lm137.0 million, an increase of Lm6 million or 4.6 per cent on the Lm131 million expended during 2005. Lower expenditure was recorded under Roads (-Lm5 million) and under the Office of the Prime Minister (-Lm4.3 million). On the other hand, higher expenditure (+Lm11.4 million) was recorded under the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology. This was mainly brought about by increases in ICT core services agreements and projects (+Lm6.3 million) and investment incentives and direct investment (+Lm3.7 million).
The Central Government debt outstanding at the end of the year amounted to Lm1,364.4 million, a reduction of Lm39.4 million compared to the debt position at the end of December 2005. This decline was brought about by a reduction of Lm29.8 million in the short-term borrowing component, as well as by a reduction of Lm10.4 million in foreign borrowing.