By: Bedour El-Raie
Abu Dhabi - Mubasher: The UAE government on Sunday approved a three-year budget, with total planned spending of AED 180 billion ($49 billion).
The approved budget has 0% deficit, supported by higher crude oil prices and their positive effect on revenues, with the annual budget of 2019 set at AED 60.3 billion.
This marks the biggest budget in the UAE’s history, since 1971, with an increased spending of 17.3% or AED 8.9 billion compared to the 2018 budget.
Social development and social benefits dominate 42.3% of public spending in next year’s budget, with a total investment of AED 25.5 billion.
The Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, announced that a total of 59% of spending will be directed to education and societal development.
Education account for 17% of the planned spending, equivalent to AED 10.3 billion.
On the other hand, AED 4.4 billion will be directed to healthcare, around 7.3% of the general budget.
AED 3.2 billion, or 5.3% of the budget, has been allocated to programs ensuring social rights and stimulating social integration.
The Zayed housing program was assigned AED 1.6 billion, with social security and pensions totalling AED 4.5 billion, that’s 2.6% and 7.4% of the budget, respectively.
AED 2.5 billion has been set to maintaining clear policies on the regional and international level, whereas a sum of AED 944 million will be directed to developing the judicial authority, while spending on infrastructure has a 2.8% of the budget or AED 1.7 billion.
A number of projects on the federal level has been included in the budget with a total spending of AED 841 billion.
AED 171 million will be directed to the projects of the UAE space agency.
The federal budget represent a big share of public spending, while each emirate has its own local budget.
The last five years has seen an increase in the public expenditure per capita by 12.2%.
For the next three years combined, public spending is forecasted at AED 200 billion.
In October 2016, the UAE Cabinet approved the federal budget draft for 2017-2021, with an estimated spending of AED 247.3 billion over five years.
