Draft Budget 2018 Investments and favored social sectors
The draft Budget Act 2018 was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 12 October. This time, the state budget focuses on investments, while at the same time promoting the basic social sectors. This is reflected in an increase in capital expenditure of some CFAF 11.6 billion compared with the previous year. Planned investment spending will focus on strengthening Gabon’s transport infrastructure development projects, producing and supplying water and electricity, and bridging the digital divide. CFAF 263.8 billion is earmarked for these posts in the draft budget which will soon be submitted to parliament. To this end, there has been a slight decrease in staff costs and in the financial costs of debt in order to encourage investment. A reduction of CFAF 200 million is thus made on staff costs, because in this particular area a great deal of effort has been deployed by the different departments concerned in order to avoid a certain amount of abuse and in order to better control public expenditure .
Improved revenue
In addition, operating expenditures, including Trust Accounts (CAS) and product allocations, would amount to CFAF 1316.3 billion, compared with CFAF 1163.8 billion for the rectified budget of 2017. This represents an increase of 152.5 billion CFA francs thanks to a better traceability of the expenses borne by the assigned revenue. The budget of the State is essentially based on at least four axes. That is to say, the effort to mobilize tax and customs revenues, control and consolidation of public expenditure, in particular the clearance of domestic debt, control of the wage bill and the continuation of the Gabonese Government’s social policy. There is also an overall improvement in revenue in the draft budget: an increase of 128 billion CFA francs compared to this year for budgetary revenues, which would generate total revenues of CFAF 1,884.6 billion plus 846 , CFAF 2 billion in financing and cash flow from conventional drawings, issuance of government securities and budgetary support from bilateral and multilateral financial partners.
Economic recovery plan
With regard to internal revenue, the improvement will be made possible by strengthening operations to mobilize tax and customs revenues. Provisions to broaden the tax base will thus be established, to mention only the implementation of the Provisions relating to the Synthetic Tax Levy (ISL). The draft Budget 2018 takes account of the existing constraints, while focusing on the implementation of the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) and the agreement signed between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the State Gabon in June 2017.