The crisis of the presidential government.. 60% budget deficit and resources that do not cover 40% of salaries

Statements and figures issued by the Central Bank in Aden revealed the size of the economic crisis suffered by the legitimate government as a result of its loss of hundreds of billions of its resources since the beginning of this year.

A recent report issued by the Central Bank indicated that the government budget registered a deficit of about 60% during the first half of this year 2023 , with the internal public debt recording an increase of 3.

5% during the month of June 2023 , while the average exchange rate of the riyal against the US dollar in The market is 1,379 riyals.

The bank’s report said that the data on the actual implementation of the state’s general budget until the end of June 2023 indicates a deficit of 593.1 billion riyals, as public revenues amounted to 400 billion riyals and public expenditures amounted to 993.1 billion riyals, compared to a cash deficit of 431.8 billion in May 2023.

This large deficit in the public budget is due to the volume of revenue lost by the government by comparing these numbers with the figures for the first half of last year 2022 , in which the government then achieved a surplus of about 120 billion riyals, according to the bank’s report at the time.

The bank's report on economic and financial developments for the first half of 2022  indicated that the state's revenues increased by 352.8% and amounted to 1222.6 billion riyals, compared to 1101.8 billion expenditures during the same period.

Bank Governor Ahmed Ghaleb presented a bleak picture of the economic situation in an interview with Al-Ayyam newspaper published in Aden on Wednesday.

The governor stressed that the state’s revenues as a whole and with all its sources now do not cover 40% of its salaries, pointing to the loss of the public treasury of more than one trillion and five hundred billion due to the striking of oil ports and the cessation of exports and because of the armistice agreement that deprived of customs and taxes for oil ships that went to Hodeidah during the last period.

The governor pointed out that the bank had managed last year to withdraw about one trillion and 600 billion riyals from the market through the weekly auctions of hard currency, but it was forced to return it as expenses after the government lost the previous revenues, explaining that if the bank had not withdrawn these quantities and added them from the stored printed currency and changed Exporting, the exchange rate had exceeded 2500 riyals.

The governor revealed that last year the Central Bank secured about 900 billion riyals of expenditure, revenue and deficit differences from external sources, most of which are from its reserves and public debt in sukuk and treasury bonds, adding: Assuming that this bank does not exist now, it means that you will not be able to pay salaries for a large part of the year even with The existence of oil exports, and you will not be able to secure even one hour of electricity fuel per day.

المصدر: نيوزيمن