Representatives reveal the most prominent features of the budget for the new fiscal year

Members of the House of Representatives revealed the most prominent features related to the new general budget for the fiscal year 2024/2025, which is expected to arrive to the House of Representatives from the government in preparation for its discussion and approval in the coming days.

Head of the Plan and Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, Fakhri Al-Fiqi, said: The indicators of the new general budget include continuing to achieve a primary surplus, increasing the growth rate of the gross domestic product, and strengthening the system of social support and protection, and aims to achieve a growth rate of 4% of the gross domestic product, noting that It will witness achieving an initial surplus of 3.5%, reducing the total deficit in the medium term to 6% of the gross domestic product, and growing revenues in the state’s general budget by about 36%, reaching 2.6 trillion pounds.

Al-Fiqi indicated in statements to Al-Shorouk that the new budget will include the growth of the state’s public expenditures by 29% to reach 3.9 trillion pounds, and the allocation of 575 billion pounds for wages, and 636 billion pounds for support, grants and social benefits, including 144 billion for food supplies and 154 billion for support. Petroleum products as a result of the rise in global oil prices after the exchange rate changed.

While the representative of the Economic Committee in the House of Representatives, Mohamed Abdel Hamid, added that more than 40 billion pounds have been allocated to “Solidarity and Dignity” in the new budget, in addition to increasing the allocations for health and education by 30%, indicating that for the first time this year, the concept of the general government budget will be introduced. In a way that enables us to identify the true capabilities of the state’s public finances as a result of an abstract reading of the entire state’s revenues and expenditures.

The Undersecretary of the Economic Committee continued, saying: “We are very much anticipating the presentation of the “General Government” budget in the fiscal year 2024/2025, including the budgets of 40 economic bodies as a first stage, so that the total revenues of the General Government budget will reach 4 trillion pounds, while its total expenditures will reach 4.9 trillion pounds.” .

Committee Undersecretary Yasser Omar believed that there must be a set of goals related to the new budget, including continuing to take all necessary measures to reduce the public debt to the budget and the burdens of servicing it, in addition to the necessity of maintaining financial discipline and ensuring the financial sustainability of the state’s general budget.
Omar stated the need for the general budget to take into account everything related to strengthening social protection packages along with continuing the economic reform program, with a focus on increasing and stimulating exports, strengthening industry and the role of the private sector in achieving development, without ignoring the repercussions of global and regional economic conditions.

It is noteworthy that the new budget items must be approved before next June 30, as this comes in compliance with Article No. 124 of the Egyptian Constitution, which stipulates that the draft new general budget must be presented to the House of Representatives at least ninety days before the start of the fiscal year.

It is expected that the Minister of Finance will deliver the government’s statement regarding the state’s general budget for the new fiscal year, and then the Council, with all its specific committees, will begin discussing the draft budget, as discussions begin through the specific committees, provided that an integrated report is prepared for presentation to the plenary session, to be approved before The 30th of next June, so that the new budget will begin work on the first of next July.