Abu Dhabi: The zero-deficit budget approved by the Cabinet will not introduce any new government fees or taxes, according to a senior Finance Ministry official.
The Dh42.2 federal budget for 2009 is balanced and shows no deficit.
The budget outlay for next year should help add stimulus to the country's economic growth said Younus Haji Al Khouri, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Finance.
"Abu Dhabi is the major contributor to the federal budget. It's a balanced budget, there's no surplus and the deficit is zero," Al Khouri told a press conference here.
The other contributors to the federal budget include Dubai, Ministry of Finance and government services, said Al Khouri. He, however, didn't provide a breakdown of the contributors.
Al Khouri said since the 2005 federal budget, the budgetary allocation has increased almost 100 per cent. The total outlay of this biggest ever budget is 21 per cent higher than last year's Dh34.9 billion.
The total outlay in this biggest-ever budget is 21 per cent higher than last year's Dh34.9 billion.
In 2009, of the total budgetary outlay, 38.3 per cent will be spent on social services, 35.8 per cent on justice and security, 12.9 per cent on social benefits, 5.1 per cent on infrastructure, 3.1 per cent on foreign affairs, 2.4 per cent on financial and fixed investments and 1.6 per cent on economic affairs, said Al Khouri.
Commenting on the high allocation to the education sector, Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research told Gulf News: "This shows how our wise leadership regards education as their utmost priority since they believe education is the basic foundation of any society. This initiative is an extremely positive indicator in the development of the country."
Dr Abdullah Al Karam, director-general and chairman of the board of directors at Knowledge and Human Development Authority, said, "This decision reflects how important education is to the growth and continuing success of the UAE."
By Himendra Mohan Kumar and Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporters