Gove’s requested budget rejected [Archives:2005/877/Local News]

SANA'A- Sept.12- The Financial Committee at the Parliament rejected the government's demand for an additional budget, meanwhile the ruling People's General Congress exerts efforts to make some MPs vote for approving the additional allotment that exceeds 40% of the State's general budget.

Abdurrahman Ba Fadhl, a prominent MP and Chairman of the Islah Parliamentary bloc, blamed the government for violating the law which stipulates that any additional allotment should not exceed 5% of the state's general budget, except in emergency cases.

The additional sum demanded by the government is estimated at 452 billion rials, equal to 53 percent of the State's general budget for the fiscal year 2005.

Abdulkarim Shaiban, a member of the Parliament's Financial Committee mentioned the government spent about 178 billion rials without the approval of the Parliament. 40 billion rials of the sum went to the Ministry of Public Roads and Highways and an unjustifiable sum of 70 billion rials were allotted to the Ministry of Defense.

Shaiban attributed the extravagant public spending to an increase in oil resources, and the government, therefore, estimated the price of oil at 30 dollars per barrel while indicators in 1994 revealed the price ran high to 40 dollars per barrel. He pointed out the government endorsed the general budget with YR180 for one dollar, however the price of dollar exceeds 190 rials.

Shaiban accused the government of corruption, particularly as it allocated a sum of YR billion 223 out of the additional allotments for subsidizing oil products.

“We expected the government to reduce the subsidy on oil derivatives, particularly after approving the dose reforms,” he said, adding that the Parliament never got acquainted with the quantities of oil products consumed locally due to the absence of transparency.
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