Issue 2

Budget Study Centre Issue 2
October 24, 2017

CPDI BUDGET WATCH

Fortnightly Budget News Alerts
 

BRAZIL: Government to Send Congress Changes To The 2018 Budget Bill


The financial Tribune (October 22, 2017)

(RTT News) – The Brazilian government will send to Congress the changes to the 2018 budget bill by the end of next week, Planning Minister Dyogo Oliveira said Thursday after a meeting with the Senate’s speaker Eunício Oliveira. “The speaker asked about the deadline for sending the complementary piece of the budget, and I said we are preparing everything to send it by the end of next week…Read More

Women farmers present ‘charter of demand’ to minister


The Business Recorder(October 21, 2017)

Oxfam Pakistan and Indus Consortium organized a rural women’s convention where over 80 women farmers from five districts of Punjab, presented a “charter of demands” to the Minister Environment Protection Zakia Shah Nawaz.The charter demands the approval of the Climate Change Policy with proper resource allocation for smallholder women farmers and their participation in budget decision making. The convention…Read More

Budget Deficit Hits $666 Billion, an $80 Billion Spike for the Year


The flathead Beacon(October 20, 2017)

WASHINGTON – The federal budget deficit rose to $666 billion in the just-completed fiscal year, a spike that comes as Republicans are moving to draft a tax code rewrite that promises to add up to $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the coming decade. The sobering deficit numbers, released Friday by the Treasury Department and the White House budget office, followed Senate passage Thursday night of a 10-year budget…Read More

Academics want bigger budget for education sector in 2018


New Straits Times (October 19, 2017)

KUALA LUMPUR: Public universities will attract the cream of the crop when there is more money pumped into the sector. National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Harry Tan said more allocation for public universities would mean better quality teachers and ultimately higher standards of instructions provided in schools.He said a larger budget for both the Education and Higher Education…Read More

Zimbabwe Says to Slash Budget Deficit despite Looming Elections


New York Times (October 18, 2017)

HARARE – Zimbabwe plans to cut its budget deficit by half next year to 4 percent of GDP, the national Treasury said, an ambitious goal at a time when the country is expected to hold a presidential vote that veteran President Robert Mugabe is set to contest. The southern African country has over the last four years failed to cut its deficit despite promises to do so, mainly due to high government spending on public sector…Read More

Colombia’s Congress Approves $80 Billion Budget for 2018


US News (October 18, 2017)

BOGOTA (Reuters) Colombia’s congress approved an $80 billion budget for 2018 on Wednesday, in a bid to retain the country’s ‘BBB’ credit rating, and the finance minister said the government would not issue more international bonds. Policymakers have been grappling for over two years with the twin pressures of a weak economy, caused by the global drop in oil prices, and inflation…Read More

Financing Framework for dealing with climate change unveiled


The Dawn (October 17, 2017)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) unveiled on Monday a ‘Climate Change Financing Framework’ (CCFF) structured to respond to climate change and promote rationalizing climate finance, starting from the planning stage and creating a robust monitoring system that can gauge the adequacy and effectiveness of financing. The framework aims to make existing responses to the…Read More

Greek January-September Government Budget Surplus Slightly Below Target on Lower Revenues


The New York Times(October 16, 2017)

ATHENS- Greece’s central government attained a primary budget surplus of 4.5 billion Euros (£4 billion) in the first nine months of the year, slightly below target due to lower tax revenues, finance ministry data showed on Monday. The government’s target was for a primary budget surplus – which excludes debt-servicing costs – of 4.556 billion Euros for the January-to-September period, meaning the surplus missed the…Read More

J&K government issues guidelines to accelerate development works, streamline budget spending


The Indian Express (October 16, 2017)

To streamline departmental spending in order to accelerate the pace of development works in the state, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday told all its department heads that all unutilized funds above 30 per cent of their respective budgetary allocation would get automatically forfeited after December 31…Read More

The Republican budget is a gift to billionaires: it’s Robin Hood in reverse


The Guardian (October 16, 2017)

After failing to pass a “healthcare” bill that would have thrown up to 32 million Americans off of health insurance, a bill that was more unpopular than the Wall Street bailout, Donald Trump and the Republican leadership in Congress are back. Now, they are pushing one of the most destructive and unfair budget and tax proposals in the modern history of our country – a plan that would do incalculable harm to tens of millions…Read More

Speakers for educating on Budget tracking process


DAWN News(October 16, 2017)

SWABI: Speakers at a workshop here on Sunday said that it would be difficult to use the available resources for solution of people’s problems without educating them on budget tracking process and enabling them to play their role in utilization of funds. The workshop was organized by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) under the European-funded project titled…Read More

State budget compromise remains elusive


The CT post(October 14, 2017)

HARTFORD – Legislative leaders say they are making steady, if slow, progress in negotiations on the long-stalled state budget for the two fiscal years that started July 1.Gov. Dannel P. Malloy isn’t so sure. The governor is concerned that a compromise document on which he might be asked to sign off before an anticipated special session during the week of October 23 may contain unacceptable…Read More

Portugal draft budget sees 2018 growth of 2.2 pct


Kitco News (October 13, 2017)

LISBON, (Reuters) – Portugal’s Socialist government expects economic growth to slow to 2.2 percent in 2018, down from 2.6 percent this year, the government’s draft budget showed on Friday. The document forecast the budget deficit to fall to 1 percent of gross domestic product next year from 1.4 percent this year…Read More

Budget 2018 criticized for leaving Louth citizens with disabilities behind


Dundalk Democrat (October 12, 2017)

“The report revealed that according to summary results by the Central Statistics Office, based on last year’s census, there are as many as 20,662 citizens or 13.6% of the population of Louth/East Meath recorded as having a disability.”As the number of people affected by specific types of disabilities is not currently available – (this data from the 2016 census is expected in early November)-the Oireachtas Library used data…Read More

Gross debit to soar to 68.7 percent of GDP in 2018: IMF


The Business Recorder (October 12, 2017)

The International Monetary Fund has projected an increase in Pakistan government gross debt – by 0.7 percent – to 68.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2018 against 68 percent in 2017. According to the IMF “Fiscal Monitor, tackling inequality,” it has been projected that the government gross debt would rise to 68.7 percent of the GDP in 2018 and then decline to 68.2 percent in 2019…Read More

Ahead of elections: Pakistan restricts deficit, sparking hopes of fiscal discipline


Express Tribune (October 11, 2017)

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government has managed to restrict the overall budget deficit to Rs324 billion in the first quarter in the wake of strict controls over federal development spending, giving early hopes of fiscal discipline in an election year. In July-September quarter of the current fiscal year, the budget deficit of Rs324 billion was equal to…Read More

Budget Deficit Reduced to 0.9% of GDP-First Quarter FY18


The Research Snipers (October 10, 2017)

Last year Pakistan’s budget deficit of the first quarter (July-September) of the financial year was noted at the number of rupees 438 billion whereas the recordings of this year are at rupees 324 billion. This year’s budget deficit is because of the vigorous tax collections and minimum spending.Talking in terms of GDP the deficit generally decreased to 0.9% during the July to September quarter of the running financial year as compared to the…Read More

Delia: Budget confirms the government ‘has no plan’


Malta Today (October 09, 2017)

Budget 2018 did not adequately address pensions, traffic and infrastructure, tourism and education, according to Opposition leader Adrian Delia in his first official reaction follow the budget presentation. On pensions, Delia said the government did not focus on the second pillar of healthcare. “The government left them where they were. The Nationalist party will see that pensioners are treated as a resource, not a burden…Read More

PN: Budget shows government lacks a plan


The times of Malta (October 09,2017)

The Opposition is ready to help the government because it is showing it has no plan for today, tomorrow or the future, Opposition leader Adrian Delia said in an initial reaction to the Budget. “If you were stuck in traffic today, you will still be stuck in traffic tomorrow. If you cannot make ends meet today, you will be in the same position tomorrow. If you have poor working…Read More