Saturday
20th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Solih and the First Lady returning from a visit to the United States
The government only received half of the money that it had expected as foreign aid in 2021.
Statistics published by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) show that the government had only received MVR 1.1 billion as foreign aid by the end of 2021. The government had, nevertheless, expected an inflow of MVR 1.1 billion.
The government's total revenue earned in 2021 had been MVR 19.6 billion; the government had estimated a total (the sum of revenue and foreign aid) of MVR 21 billion. The government had spent a total of MVR 32 billion, and the budget deficit had risen to MVR 12.8 billion.
Although the government did not receive the foreign aid that it had expected in 2021, the government had estimated an inflow of MVR 2.9 billion in free aid in 2022.
Speaking at the Parliament's budget committee, MMA governor Ali Hashim had expressed his concerns that the government may not receive the foreign aid that it had estimated for 2022.
Despite the lack of foreign aid, the government's standard narrative has remained that President Solih and Foreign Minister Shahid's excessive foreign trips were made to secure foreign aid.