Finance Minister Alfred Alfred, Jr. introduced a $257.7 million FY2021 budget to Nitijela last Thursday. It is nearly $40 million above the $219 million budget for FY2020. The Nitijela Appropriations Committed launched daily hearings on the budget Monday this week.
The budget includes money for a new Ministry of Environment, $8.8 million for state owned enterprises that is dominated by $5 million for a copra subsidy to Tobolar, $1.6 million subsidy for Social Security, $4 million loan payment to the Asian Development Bank, $1.7 million loan payment to MIDB, and $3.4 million for Majuro landowner electricity.
Sources of funding include:
• General Fund (including $32.4 million in taxes and $42.21 million in various contributions including MIMRA fisheries revenue $26 million, ship registry $8 million, and Taiwan budget support $4 million), total of $74.5 million.
• Special Revenue Funds (largely the Health Care Revenue Fund of $8.2 million), total of $11.1 million.
• Compact Revenue Funds (includes $22.7 million for Kwajalein landowners land use agreement payment), total of $84.4 million.
• All other revenues (US federal grants $17.8 million, Taiwan capital grants $8 million, ADB grant $16 million, World Bank $9.2 million and others), total of $87.7 million.