The Federal National Council (FNC) on Tuesday approved two bills, one on additional allocations to the Union budget and budgets of autonomous entities for fiscal year 2014, and the other on the Union budget for 2015.
The sixth session of the fourth Ordinary Meeting of the 15th Legislative Chapter was chaired by Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Speaker of Federal National Council (FNC), and attended by Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Minister of State for Federal National Council of Affairs, and Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs.
According to the draft law, expenditures and revenues in the Union budget and budgets of autonomous entities for fiscal year 2014 would increase AED 1.74 billion and AED 208 million, respectively.
Al Tayer said the deficit of AED 1.53 bn will be redressed from the State General Reserve or revenues, government investment and corporate profits.
He noted that financial allocations for taking care of Emirati citizens abroad cannot be predicted, and that was reason additional allocations were requisitioned and approved by both the Fiscal and Economic Committee and the Cabinet.
Al Tayer noted that the government was reaping the fruits of the sound policies it adopted to handle the 2008 world financial crisis.
”Based on our economic situation, we expect an economic growth of 4 to 4.5 percent this year while the IMF has predicted a growth of 4.5 percent in 2015,” Al Tayer said, affirming that fluctuations in world oil prices neither affect the State nor the budget. In 2009, he noted, the oil prices dipped to 35 dollars per barrel, and today, the government budget is not linked to oil prices.
The 2015 federal budget projected no deficit with estimated expenditures and revenues at AED 49.1 billion.
The budget draft law is effective as of January 1, 2015 and up to December 31, 2015 as per federal law No. 8 of 2011 regarding rules and regulations of the public budget and closing accounts.
Members of the house stressed that the budget should concentrate on sustainable inclusive development and consider strategies, objectives and plans of key service ministries of education, health, housing and social affairs. They also called for earmarking financial resources to qualify and train Emirati nationals to work in various sectors and paying proper attention to cultural programmes that serve the youth and encourage scientific research for advancing national development.
In the Q&A session, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gargawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs, answered a question about appointment of non-ministers on the boards of directors of federal corporations and agencies, saying that the general orientation of the Federal Cabinet is to have national competencies at the helm of these entities since they support the Cabinet in implementing services and plans of the federal government.
In his written reply, the minister added that the presence of ministers as chairmen of boards for the time being was largely stipulated by articles of associations of these bodies to serve the public interest. He affirmed that 30 percent of the federal bodies were not chaired by ministers and the Cabinet reviews this percentage from time to time according to performance indices.
Another question about the possibility of allocating the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan as public holidays to give government employees more time to worship, was postponed by the minister to the next session.
Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, answered a question about free trade and trade agencies.
A house member asked Al Tayer about application of HR rules of the federal autonomous authorities to workers of the Emirates Post Group.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
