The government’s consolidated fund registered a deficit of €235.8 million last month, according to government finance data published this morning by the National Statistics Office.
Compared to 2014, recurrent revenue registered an increase of €247.6 million while total expenditure went up by €347.1 million, widening the shortfall in the government’s consolidated fund by €99.5 million.
In January-December, recurrent revenue was recorded at €3,634.8 million, up from €3,387.2 million last year.
Total expenditure went up by €347.1 million and stood at €3,870.6 million mainly as a result of higher spending on recurrent and capital expenditures and interest payments.
Recurrent expenditure stood at €3,056.8 million from €2,857.1 million last year. This was the result of higher outlays on programmes and initiatives by €107.6 million.
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs stood at €232.3 million, up from €231.1 million last year.
Government’s capital expenditure witnessed an increase of €146.1 million, and was recorded at €581.5 million.
The increase was mainly related to the closure for the payments under the EU funding programme 2007-2013 by the end of December 2015. This primarily included higher outlays on the Malta MBT Plant (€25.5 million), the water quality and supply project (€16.9 million), autoclave animal waste facility (€14.1 million), and e-services accessibility for all (€11.7 million).
At the end of 2015, central government debt stood at €5,334.1 million, up by €240.5 million over 2014. This was the result of higher Malta Government Stocks and Treasury Bills, which added €126 million and €81.6 million respectively.
On the other hand, foreign loans went down by €10.6 million. Holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks remained at the same level of last year.
In a statement, the government said that revenue and expenditure for 2015 were in line with 2016 Budget estimates. This meant that the government was on track in reaching the 1.6 per cent deficit target for 2015.
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna remarked that this positive result showed that this government would succeed in reaching the deficit target for the third consecutive year auguring well for debt reduction and the attainment of public finance sustainability.