Monday 01 / July / 2024
Muscat: The State Council referred the draft General Budget for the fiscal year 2020 to the Council of Ministers together with the recommendations of the State Council and Majlis Al Shura , after the Council discussed it the first annual session of the seventh term held on Tuesday.
The sitting, headed by HE Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Manthri, State Council Chairman, and held in the presence of honorable members and the Secretary-General of the Council, discussed the report of the Council’s expanded economic committee on the draft budget and amendments to it in light of the outcome of the discussions in the sitting.
The Chairman commenced the sitting with a speech in which he reviewed the agenda items, indicating that it will mainly discuss the draft General Budget of the state for the fiscal year 2020 and the report of the Economic Committee and the heads of the standing committees in this regard.
In addition it reviewed the results of the election of the honorable members to the standing committees in the council and a number of reports submitted by the honorable members about the work and activities of the State Council.
Subsequently, Hon. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Harthy, Head of the Economic Committee of the Council, delivered a statement of the expanded economic committee on the draft general budget for the fiscal year 2020, indicating that it represents a critical stage of the development path in the Sultanate, as it is the last year of the Ninth Five-Year plan (2016-2020).
The preparatory year for the start of the first implementation phase of the future vision (Oman 2040) is represented in the tenth Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).
In this regard, he pointed out the importance of taking into account the imperativeness of preparing for the “Vision 2040” by providing clear programmes and mechanisms to achieve budget goals, and dealing with them within the framework of the national economy and development plans, which leads to efficient spending and supports the steps necessary for the financial sustainability of the country.
He explained that the expanded Economic Committee saw the importance of focusing on the draft budget within the framework of macroeconomic policies and concluded by providing many recommendations and visuals detailed in the six axes of the report, which are: public observations, public revenues (both oil and non-oil), and public spending (current, capital and development and service public debt), social and economic requirements, current deficit, means of financing and financial position.
At the conclusion of the discussions on the draft budget, the Council expressed its appreciation to the Ministry of Finance for its efforts in preparing the draft budget, and thanked the honorable members of the expanded Economic Committee for their efforts in studying the project.
Hon. Al Harthy expressed his aspiration that the views expressed by the honorable members contribute to enriching the project, and contributes with the government’s efforts in achieving financial sustainability, enhancing the strength of the Omani economy, enabling it to face challenges.
Following that, the council completed the discussion of the agenda items of the sitting, touched on the results of the elections of the standing committees in the council, the designation of representatives of the State Council in the membership of the Arab Parliament, the final report with a summary of the studies submitted by the Economic Committee during the sixth term, the report of the General Secretariat on the activities of the council in addition to reviewing of several reports issued by the Assistant Secretariat General for Information and Research Center Affairs.
