1993-1994 budget saw deficit of $840 million
1993-1994 budget saw deficit of $840 million
JAKARTA (JP): The state budget for the 1993/1994 fiscal year, which ended in March, suffered a deficit of Rp 1.85 trillion (US$840 million), partly because of a drop in actual receipts from the oil and gas sector.
Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad said here yesterday that the deficit was partly caused by the higher than estimated spending for both routine activities and development projects, the minister told the House of Representatives in a plenary session.
Mar'ie said that the government's actual revenues in the 1993/1994 year totaled Rp 66.86 trillion, surpassing the initial target by around seven percent. Actual spending, on the other side, reached Rp 68.71 trillion, exceeding the initial plan by around 10 percent.
According to regulation, the government's balanced budget plan should pass through the House at least three times. Approval is first needed for the budget plan, which is usually made before the start of the fiscal year. A second approval is necessary for the estimated budget, which is generally proposed before the end of the budget year.
The last stage of House approval is needed for the audited (actual) budget, which must be proposed within two years after the budget year is ended.
Higher
The minister said that the government's actual revenues were, in fact, higher than the initial plan, despite the shortage in the state receipts from the oil and gas sector.
The actual receipts from oil and gas exports fell short of the target by nearly 18 percent to Rp 12.50 trillion due to drops in oil prices, the minister said.
Revenues from the oil and gas sector in the 1993/1994 budget were based on a reference price of US$18 per barrel. Actual oil prices, however, reached less than $14.50 per barrel throughout most of the year.
The actual spending on routine activities, such as government salaries, exceeded the initial target by around 8.8 percent to Rp 40.28 trillion, while spending on development projects surpassed the target by nearly 12 percent to Rp 28.42 trillion.
The government set aside around Rp 3 trillion in standby reserves in 1994 to finance a possible shortfall in state revenues.
The minister said that part of the standby reserves, which were accumulated from the budget surplus in the previous fiscal years, had been used to finance the 1993/1994 budget shortage.
"This reduced the standby funds to around Rp 2.3 trillion," he said.
The 1992/1993 budget also suffered a deficit of around Rp 551.2 billion for similar reasons. (hen)