2010 Mid-Year Budget to $838 million

La'o Hamutuk has a new web page with analysis and documents on the mid-year budget rectification. An excerpt follows:

On 31 May 2010, the Council of Ministers approved an "orsamento rektifikativu" mid-year budget adjustment which increases the state budget by 27%, from $659,996,000 to $837,981,000. It was submitted to Parliament the same day, and the Government hopes Parliament will approve it by 14 July.

Although only $178 million has been added in expenditures, the proposed revision increases the amount withdrawn from the Petroleum Fund during 2010 by $309 million, to a total of $811 million. This increase is above the previously-allocated $502 million Estimated Sustainable Income level, and will reduce the ESI by about $9 million every year in the future. We understand that the Ministry of Finance is proposing to withdraw more than the amount necessary to fill the 2010 budget deficit so that they will have a cash cushion in the event the 2011 budget is approved late or unexpected expenditures arise at the end of the year.

See the website for a Council of Ministers press release with the Government's goals  for the budget rectification, as well as the proposed budget rectification law and other documents.

The budget contains many new programs and expenditure increases. La'o Hamutuk is listing a few of the largest or most interesting ones, but there are many more.

• $31.4 million for a Decentralized Development Package. This is not a new appropriation, but reprogramming from the Ministry of Infrastructure and others to the Ministry of State Administration, which will run the many small (under $250,000) PDD projects through local officials and companies.
• $25.5 million for payments to 12,000 veterans
• $17.5 million to import rice for subsidized resale (expected revenues from selling rice during 2010 have been increased from $7 to $20 million).
• $17 million additional for the national electric grid (in addition to $43 million already appropriated for the grid and heavy oil power stations)
• $10 million to upgrade the Comoro electric generating station for Dili
• $8.4 million for barracks and docks in Hera for the naval component of F-FDTL
• $7.3 million to improve financial computer systems in the government
• $5.5 million to demolish buildings damaged in 1999
• $4 million to resolve pending IDP cases
• $3.7 million for school transportation
• $3.5 million to prepare the Strategic Development Plan
• $3.5 million for the Maliana diocese and district church renovations
• $3.1 million for naval studies in Beacu by marine specialists
• $2.0 million to begin rehabilitating the Dili airport runway (total cost $7 million)
• $2.0 million for overseas medical treatment from last year
• $1.5 million more for pensions for former office-holders (in addition to $1.3 million already appropriated)
• $1.5 million more for scholarships in the Ministry of Education
• $1.3 million to support Suco councils
• $1.4 million to build an office for the Prosecutor-General of the Republic
• $1.2 million for vehicles for PNTL
• $0.5 million to rehabilitate the TradeInvest office