Luanda - The Angolan Parliament on Wednesday gave the green light to the implementation of the Proposal for the General State Budget (OGE) for the 2024 financial year, which provides, among others, an increase of 5% for a salary in the Civil Service.
The document was approved with 119 votes in favour (MPLA and PHA), 83 against (UNITA) and one abstention from the PRS-FNLA Joint parliamentary group, during the 2nd Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of the 2nd Legislative Session of the V Legislature.
The Minister of Finance, Vera Daves, welcomed the approval of the State Budget, considering that the Executive now has a financial instrument to govern in 2024.
“Without this financial instrument we would be conditioned to pay salaries and ensure the functioning of public institutions and the projects that are underway continue”, she stressed.
The MPLA justified the favorable vote, through the parlamentarian Esteves Hilário, that this is the possible budget for the current circumstances.
He added that voting in favor of the State Budget is an act of State responsibility and commitment to Angolans, who expect the National Assembly, made up of its elected representatives, to take responsible stances that create legal instruments for the gradual resolution of Angolans' problems.
“Today we witness, once again and unsurprisingly, UNITA matching itself and voting against the General State Budget,” he lamented.
He highlighted that UNITA's vote against, which is not accompanied by a budget counter-proposal, reflects not only an already consolidated culture of total absence of commitment to the people.
For her part, parliamentarian Bela Malaquias, from the PHA, justified the vote in favor of the proposal based on the meticulous analysis of the amendments introduced, “the result of a democratic debate and constructive contributions in defense of the allocation of resources to critical sectors such as health, education, infrastructure and social development”.
However, she noted that the public debt situation, which exceeds 50 percent, raises justified concern, considering it imperative for the Government to manage the debt responsibly, reviewing and reducing non-essential expenditures.
“Our vote in favor of the State Budget Proposal derives from the conviction that its non-approval or rejection would result in the aggravation of the intense suffering of the majority of the Angolan population,” she said.
UNITA, through the parliamentarian Albertina Navita Ngolo, said it had voted against the 2024 State Budget Proposal because it considers that it “is riddled with induced errors in budget planning and clear discrepancies between the objectives advocated, both by the 2023-2027 PDN and by the proposal itself, and the allocation of resources in the different sectors in terms of monetary values”.
Albertina Navita Ngolo said that the 2024 State Budget “is far from reflecting the real situation of the economy, if we consider that 70 percent of it is informal”.
2024 State Budget Numbers
The 2024 State Budget Proposal estimates revenues and sets expenses in the same amount of kz 24,715,263,134,196.00 (twenty-four billion, seven hundred and fifteen million, two hundred and sixty-three million, one hundred and thirty-four thousand, and one hundred and ninety-six kwanzas), reflecting an increase of 22.94 percent, compared to the 2023 State Budget.
The estimated inflation rate for 2024 is 15.3 percent, and in cumulative terms it reached the level of 27 percent in 2021, 13.9 percent in 2022 and the preliminary expectation is 17.8 percent for 2023.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) projections for 2024 point to a growth of 2.84 percent, with the expectation for 2023 being 0.44 percent. In cumulative terms, it reached growth levels of 30.5 percent in 2022 and 1.2 percent in 2021.
Revenues
Current revenues were estimated at around 14 billion kwanzas, representing an increase of 9.14 percent, compared to the value of the 2023 OGE.
Capital revenues were estimated at around 10 billion kwanzas, representing an increase of 50.86 percent, compared to the value of the 2023 OGE.
Expenses
Current expenses were set at 12 billion kwanzas, representing an increase of 26.64 percent, compared to the value approved in the 2023 OGE.
Capital expenditure, set at around 12 billion kwanzas, is above capital revenues estimated at 10 billion kwanzas, representing a positive indicator, as part of current revenues will be used to cover financial expenses.
OGE 2024 projections point to GDP growth of 2.84 percent and an inflation rate of 15.3 percent.
The 2024 OGE Proposal estimates an average price of a barrel of oil at 65 dollars, thus considering the uncertainties and risks associated with the volatility of the price of a barrel on the international market.
This proposal considers concrete actions to boost the economy and improve the business environment, with emphasis on the provision of a line of financing valued at 153 million kwanzas, with competitive interest rates, to finance projects in the agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors.
Measures have also been approved that will make the process of attracting private investment less bureaucratic, through the Simplifica Project.
Social sector
The social sector was allocated an expenditure of around four billion kwanzas, which corresponds to 49.0 percent of primary fiscal expenditure (excluding public debt) and 20.1 percent of total expenditure.
The budget allocation for the health sector planned for the 2024 financial year has an increase of 1.7 percent when compared to the allocation approved in the 2023 OGE, while that of education represents an increase of 1 (one) percent compared to that of the 2023 OGE. DC/VIC/DOJ
