Bahrain parliament approves 11 pct rise in 2013 budget spending | Reuters

/bahrain-budget-idUSL5N0F02MJ20130625

  • Quand les pays du Golfe, lire Bahreïn, sortent de la logique de l’économie de rente. Déficit et endettement ne sont pas loin

    Bahrain parliament approves 11 pct rise in 2013 budget spending | Reuters
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/25/bahrain-budget-idUSL5N0F02MJ20130625

    Bahrain’s 2014 spending plan was raised by 164.5 million dinars from last November’s initial finance ministry proposal, to 3.71 billion dinars.

    Parliament approved the 2013-2014 budget plan on Monday. Demands within parliament for extra spending, especially to raise public sector salaries by 15 percent, a measure opposed by the cabinet, had delayed approval for several months.

    In the end, parliament passed the plan without the public sector pay hike, but it added rises in pension payments for both public and private sector retirees, and higher subsidies for food and other items, to the plan, Almahmood said.

    The plan was supported by 23 deputies, while seven rejected it and 10 were absent, he said. Finance ministry officials were not available to comment.

    [...]
    Bahrain expanded its original 2012 expenditure plan by nearly 19 percent in September 2011 after protesters, inspired by revolts elsewhere in the Arab world, took to the streets of Manama demanding political reforms.

    The International Monetary Fund warned in May that the island needed to reform its public finances in the medium term to avoid its debt burden becoming unsustainable.

    [...]
    The actual deficit in 2012 widened sevenfold to 227 million dinars, though it was still smaller than the government’s original projection.

    The oil price which the country needs to balance its budget reached a critical level of $115 per barrel in 2012, making Bahrain vulnerable to any sustained decline in oil prices, the IMF said.

    The country relies on output from the Abu Safa oilfield shared with Saudi Arabia - which supports Bahrain’s Sunni rulers politically - for some 70 percent of its budget revenue. Analysts believe Manama’s share of the oil could be raised if its budget runs into trouble.

    The IMF expects Bahrain’s fiscal deficit to widen to as much as 8.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2018 from 4.2 percent forecast for this year.