Tribune News Network
Doha
The total revenues expected in the general budget of Qatar for the fiscal year 2024, issued by His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Wednesday, amounts to QR202 billion, a 11.4 percent decrease compared to the 2023 budget revenues estimates, Minister of Finance HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari has said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the minister of finance attributed the decrease in revenues basically to the adoption of an average oil price of $60 per barrel for 2024 instead of $65 per barrel in 2023, based on the international institutions estimates for oil prices in 2024, and the conservative estimates for oil and gas revenues.
The minister explained that estimates of total oil and gas revenues for 2024 amount to QR159 billion, compared to QR186 billion in 2023, a 14.5 percent decrease; indicating that the estimates of non-oil revenues for 2024 amounts to QR43 billion, an increase of approximately 2.4 percent compared to the budget for the fiscal year 2023.
He added that expenditures in the fiscal year 2024 budget sees an increase by 1 percent from 2023 to reach QR 200.9 billion, due to a rise in the allocations for salaries and wages increased in the 2024 budget by QR1.5 billion, a 2.4 percent increase from 2023 to reach QR64 billion.
Allocations for both current expenditures and secondary capital expenditures also increased by 6.4 percent and 27.5 percent respectively, compared to 2023. Major capital expenditures budget decreased by nearly 8.3 percent compared to the 2023 budget given the completion of many vital economic projects and projects related to the infrastructure plan.
The minister affirmed that the general budget continues to focus on achieving the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 related to the development of human capital by focusing on the health and education sectors - allocations for the two sectors constitute 20 percent of the total budget - in addition to the goals related to diversifying the local economy and enhancing its competitiveness - allocations for the communications and information technology sector have been doubled compared to 2023.
The minister noted the state’s commitment to pay the equivalent of approximately QR7.3 billion of public debt dues in 2024, which makes the cash deficit for 2024 at the above-mentioned oil price ($60 per barrel) estimated at about QR6.2 billion. This can be covered from the surplus of the year 2023 in addition to using domestic and external debt instruments as needed.