By Ramatoulie Jawo
In his presentation before the parliament on Friday, Hon. Seedy Keita, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, revealed that the 2024 budget is centered on reducing the overall fiscal deficit. This strategy includes a gradual decrease in net domestic borrowing as a percentage of GDP in the medium term.
Keita explained that the ministry plans to achieve this goal through a combination of measures, including rationalizing expenditure, enhancing domestic revenue mobilization, and implementing innovative non-debt revenue-generating initiatives such as the Asset Recycling Program.
“For this reason, the ministry intends to pursue rationalization of expenditure, improving domestic revenue mobilization and innovative non-debt revenue-creating initiatives (the Asset Recycling Program), restructuring the debt profile to reduce the burden of debt, and focusing on concessional financing of infrastructure projects identified in the Green Recovery Focused National Development Plan (RF NDP)”YIRIWA” The NDP is branded as “YIRIWA” to reflect the development that it will usher in upon its implementation,” he told the lawmakers.
He emphasized that, as a consequence, the Draft 2024 Budget Estimate has been formulated with the objective of consolidating recovery and expediting reforms to fortify economic resilience and enhance the welfare of the population.
Minister Keita highlighted that, in pursuit of these goals, the Draft Estimate places emphasis on an enhanced drive for domestic resource mobilization. This drive is designed to support the provision of high-quality essential services in education, health, agriculture, and infrastructure development, fostering more inclusive and resilient growth.
“This shift in government development policy will underpin recovery amidst global economic challenges that pose a threat to the ongoing recuperation from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he underscored.