Shura gives nod to budget

Manama Shura Council on Sunday approved the State budget for 2015 and 2016 after a six-month delay. Parliament had opposed the cabinet's intention to cut subsidies to save money, and there were disagreements over how state funds would be distributed. “It is the most difficult budget that we had to deal with in the past 12 years,” Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Khalifa said during the debate last week. “We have to realise the more we borrow, the more our currency gets devalued, so we have to be content with what we have and spend according to capabilities.” A budget plan proposed by the cabinet in May envisaged spending of BD3.571 billion ($9.47 bn) in 2015, down from an originally planned BD3.708 bn in 2014. Spending was projected at BD3.721 bn in 2016. Under this draft, the deficit was forecast to climb to 1.47 bn this year and BD1.563 bn next year, from an originally planned BD914 million last year.