Ammon News - The government on Monday presented the 2023 draft general budget law to Parliament, estimating total spending at JD11.432 billion and the deficit after foreign aid at JD1.862 billion.

Finance Minister Mohamad Al-Ississ said in a speech outlining the main figures of the 2023 draft budget that the budget primary deficit the difference between government revenues and spending, excluding interest payments is projected to continue falling for a third straight year, landing at 2.9 of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Current expenditure in the 2023 draft budget, the minister indicated, is projected at JD9.839 billion, up by JD766 million or 8.4 percent compared with 2022. He said that a JD312 million increase in payrolls for government employees, military personnel, and retirees is the main factor driving the increase in current spending.

Furthermore, Al-Ississ stated that the increase in current expenditures is attributable in part to a JD149-million increase in interest payments, which will total JD1.577 billion due to higher global rates.

According to the minister, 82 percent of current spending will be used to pay interest payments, public employee salaries, and pensions.

Capital spending is projected to total JD1.592 billion, up 7 percent, or JD104 million, from 2022's budgeted amount.

The funds designated for capital expenditures will support both new projects and those already in progress. Thus, the minister said that the 2023 budget estimates total spending of JD11.432 billion, an increase of JD871 million, or 8.2 percent, from the 2022 budget.

Al-Ississ said that domestic revenue would total JD8.767 billion, an increase of JD829 million, or 10.4 percent, from the previous year. He elaborated that the government expects an increase of JD696 million in tax revenue and JD133 million in other forms of income.

The minister pointed out that the government expects foreign assistance to amount to JD802 million in 2023 against JD796 million in 2022.

Accordingly, Al-Ississ said total revenue in the 2023 budget is expected to hit JD9.569 billion, marking a JD835 million or 9.6 percent increase from the 2022 budget.

The minister said the country’s public debt is projected to inch down by 1.5 percent in 2023 to comprise 88.2 percent of GDP, hoping that the debt-to-GDP ratio will continue to narrow down to 84.2 percent by 2025.

As for the 2023 budget of government units, Al-Ississ said total revenue is projected at JD671 million against JD954 million in 2022.

On the other hand, total spending in the 2023 budget of government units is forecast at JD1.467 billion, including JD942 million for current expenditures and JD524 million for capital spending.

The deficit, the minister added, in the 2023 budget of government units is expected at JD795 million compared with JD383 million in 2022.

Al-Ississ said the government anticipates that the country's economy will have expanded by 2.7 percent in 2022 and that it will do so again in 2023. In 2021, Jordan’s economy picked up by 2.4 percent.

The minister explained that the national economy’s growth in 2022 is mainly driven by a 41-percent uptick in national exports, particularly phosphate and potash.

Al-Ississ told the House that capital inflows in 2022 exceeded outflows, with net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows increasing by 94 percent to JD629m through September.

And by the end of 2022, the Kingdom's foreign currency reserves had grown to $17.3 billion, a sign of a robust Dinar and enough to pay for imports of goods and services for 7.5 months, the minister added.

As for inflation, the minister said it reached 4.2 percent in 2022 and is expected to edge down to 3.8 percent in 2023 despite global inflationary pressures.

Unemployment, according to the minister, dropped by 1.5 percent in the first nine months of 2022 to reach 22.8 percent. Al-Ississ said the figure remains high and a source of national concern.

The minister indicated that the 2023 draft budget's allocation for education had been raised by an additional JD111 million to a total of JD1.363 billion, an increase of 8.1 percent over the amount in the 2022 budget.

In addition, this year's budget includes an increase of JD95 million for the public healthcare system, bringing the total to JD1.157 billion.

The minister disclosed that the budgeted amount for social protection in 2023 is JD2.276 billion, an increase of JD215 million from the previous year.

Furthermore, Al-Ississ stated that JD277 million had been allocated in the 2023 budget to subsidize strategic food commodities, which is an increase of JD217 million, or 361 percent, from the 2022 allocations.

An amount of JD355 million has been earmarked for projects under the Economic Modernization Vision and public sector reform roadmap.