Revision of Angola’s 2016 budget delivered to parliament

The proposed revision of Angola’s state budget for 2016 was forwarded this week to parliament, where MPs will now review and vote on the document, which reduces spending originally planned at the beginning of the year, the Angolan press reports.
Finance Minister Armando Manuel said after officially delivering the proposal that the initial document had to be revised because it was based on an oil price of USD45 per barrel while that the current average price is USD40.9.
“As revenue derived from oil sales is lower, the spending set out in the state budget also has to be revised downward,” Manuel said.
He specified that the spending adjustment would apply to current expenditures, as the government’s aim is for the revision now proposed to create more fiscal space for public investment spending, which acts as “a lever to revive the economy.”
The minister guaranteed that social spending would continue to account for a fundamental part of the revised budget, adding that he was convinced that the two adjustments, of revenue and spending, would allow the new budget to contribute to the country’s economic development. MDT/Macauhub