By Manal Abdel Fattah
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman, issued a royal decree ratifying the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2024, and Sultan bin Salem Al Habsi, Minister of Finance, announced that the total estimated revenues for the state’s general budget for the year 2024 were calculated on the basis of the average oil price (60) US dollars per barrel. It amounted to approximately (11) billion (10) million Omani riyals, an increase of (9.5) percent over the estimated revenues for the year 2023 AD.
The total public spending for the state’s general budget for the year 2024 was estimated at approximately (11) billion (650) million Omani riyals, an increase of (2.6) percent over the estimated spending for 2023, and includes the cost of servicing the public debt amounting to about (1 billion and 50) million Omani riyals.
The Minister of Finance explained that the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2024 takes into account the balance between a set of determinants and priorities and continuing to pay the public debt and reducing it as much as possible, and aims to improve the business environment and expand the participation of the private sector in economic development, in addition to supporting the social aspect by empowering the Social Protection Fund.
To play its hoped-for role as an umbrella for initiatives aimed at raising the level of insurance coverage and social protection for citizens, as well as maintaining the level of spending in basic services such as education, health, and housing.
Sultan bin Salem Al Habsi, Minister of Finance, said that oil revenues in the 2024 budget constitute (54) percent of total revenues, while the gas sector’s contribution amounts to (14) percent, while non-oil revenues represent (32) percent of the total. Public revenues.
Estimating these public revenues comes within the framework of the precautionary approach to reduce the burden of any financial challenges that may arise during the fiscal year 2024 and ensure that financing needs are met in the event of a decline in oil prices.
He explained that the financial surpluses achieved as a result of the rise in oil prices were exploited to implement a solid plan according to which a large percentage of debts were paid, in addition to implementing a number of deferred development projects, which was reflected in the projects of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, whose commitments increased from (5) billion Omani riyals, as was the case. At its beginning, it reached more than (8) billion Omani riyals by the end of 2023 AD, with priority given to projects with a social dimension such as education, health, and social housing projects, indicating that the total amounts approved for these sectors in the 2024 budget amounted to (4) billion and (635) One million Omani riyals, representing 40 percent of the total expenditure.
The Minister of Finance stated that the government measures taken during the last period were met by credit rating agencies with a series of positive credit rating reports. He said: In order to achieve the objectives of the tenth five-year plan to achieve “Oman Vision 2040”, and within the framework of the policy of supporting economic diversification sectors and encouraging the establishment of projects that contribute to this diversification, while linking this to governorate development projects, financial credits were provided, which consisted of raising the capital of the Development Bank to (500) million Omani riyals, raising the maximum lending limit from one million Omani riyals to (5) million Omani riyals, and making room for exceeding this limit for development projects that add value to the local economy in the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman and launching a specialized investment fund (Oman Future Fund) with a capital of two billion. Omani Riyal aims to finance or enter into partnerships with the private sector and investors in viable investment projects in the diversification sectors in the Sultanate of Oman that contribute to an economic impact, by distributing the financing among these sectors and not focusing on a specific sector, while allocating a percentage of (10) percent of the capital. The fund for venture investments and small and medium enterprise projects.
The expected volume of development and investment spending during the state’s general budget for the year 2024 AD and other government institutions, namely the Omani Investment Authority and its subsidiaries and the Oman Energy Development Company, is estimated at approximately (3.9) billion Omani riyals, noting that the allocation for the governorates in the 2024 budget amounts to about (83.7) million riyals. Omani, including (44) million Omani riyals for the Governorates Development Program.
