The province of Benguela has, for the 2024 financial year, a budget valued at more than 231 billion kwanzas, 81 percent of which will be allocated to basic expenses, namely salaries and others aimed at guaranteeing the functioning of institutions, representing 21.5 percent, which represents an increase of around 18 percent, according to the director of the Office of Studies, Planning and Statistics (GEpE), Miguel Luzolo
The person in charge highlights that, in the budget, funds are foreseen to support development, mainly aimed at vulnerable families, promoting agriculture, fishing, cleaning and basic sanitation, followed by public investment projects, which represent around 13 percent of the 231 billion kwanzas, budget approved for the province of Benguela.
The director of GEPE, who spoke to Rádio Benguela, did not give percentage figures, but calculations made by this newspaper pointed to the fact that Benguela had a budget increase of just over 41 billion kwanzas for the current financial year, representing the 18 percent increase referred to by Miguel Luzolo.
The person responsible does not detail the amounts of expenses to be executed, but only assures that, “in this regard, I wanted to highlight the increase of 18 percent, compared to the same period last year, in this case last year. There was a budget increase”, he reinforces.
Last year, the province’s budget was around 190 billion kwanzas. Luzolo highlights that the increase now recorded will ensure the completion of ongoing public investment projects, which represents around “40% of the value available for the public investment project”.
BY: Constantino Eduardo, in Benguela