Loud exchanges as House questions Tonga’s 2023-2024 Annual Budget [1]
Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 15:23. Updated on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 15:48.
From the House by Pesi Fonua
There were loud exchanges in the House this morning, 20 June, in the debate over Tonga’s 2023-2024 Annual Budget.
When the Minister of Finance Hon. Tiofilusi Tiueti announced his $784.2 million Budget, on 14 June, he told the House there is a deficit of over $27 million. The budget includes the government’s significantly increased foreign loan repayments.
The House has spent all of this morning correcting the Budget, which was passed on to the House’s Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by 'Aisake Eke yesterday. The amendment was completed late yesterday evening.
After the amendment was tabled into the House this morning, the Prime Minister and his government argued about the breakdown of the figures. They agreed that the total figure of $784m was correct but argued over the allocations for Ministries. They have gone for lunch but had not sorted out that problem.
Economic recovery
Last week, the figures announced were the recurrent budget, for the running of government, amounting to $419.5 million or 53.5 per cent of the total. The balance of $364.7 million (46.5 percent) is for development expenses funded by donor partners.
Of the total budget, 65.8 percent or $515.8 million is the appropriated cash, while 34.2 percent or $268.4 million is donor in-kind.
The budget focuses on economic recovery, greater resilience and sustainability, and is the second budget of the current government, since the last election,
The theme for the 2023/24 Budget is: “Partnership for greater resilience and sustainability to restore inclusive growth.”
However, Hon. Tiofilusi Tiueti pointed out that after comparing the revenue collection and government expenditure for 2023-24, “there is a budget deficit of $27.2 million.”
The biggest allocation in the Budget Estimates 2023-2024 is for the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (18%), followed by the Ministry of Education and Training with 17%. The Ministry of Health and MEIDECC have 9%.
Hon. Tiueti said that the Ministry of Finance’s vote, included a government’s loan repayment totalling $67.1 million for 2024, an increase of $23.5 million from 43.6 million in the current financial year. Much of this is for the loan repayment to China for the reconstruction of Nuku‘alofa.