Despite the dire report sent to the People’s Majlis by the Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem regarding the 2008 budget, it shouldn’t be considered the final say in the matter, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said on Thursday.
Speaking at a news conference held after the ratification of the Presidential Election Law, President Gayoom responded to the question by Haveeru and said that there were many Ministers who did not accept the Auditor General’s report.
“The Auditor General’s report should necessarily be something that everyone will accept,” President Gayoom said. “I’m saying that we have several experienced Ministers also and the budget was compiled just like it was done before, just like all the previous Finance Ministers did it before. This is not something new.”
The President also said that it was not like the Auditor General had access to information that was not available to others and so the Auditor General’s report should not be taken as the final say in the matter.
President Gayoom did not comment when asked whether a new revised budget was being compiled, as was recommended in the Auditor General’s report.
The Auditor General’s report said that the 2008 state budget was facing a deficit of Rf4.4 billion and that the budget disregarded accounting principles. In the report the Auditor General also said that the Rf12 billion 2008 budget was not based on facts and that the development projects required would not go ahead unless a revised budget based on reality was compiled.
The report further said that if the proposed 2008 budget wasn’t stopped then the foreign currency reserve handled by the MMA would be severely depleted, causing the value of Maldivian currency to drop. The report says that a revised budget should be approved by the Parliament if the Government was considering new ways to generate income and that it should be done in accordance with financial laws and recommendations from the Auditor General.
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