Federal govt incurs RM38.4 bln deficit in 2016 - AG Report

The federal government incurred a deficit of RM38.4 billion with the ratio to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 3.12 per cent.

According to the 2016 Auditor General's Report, the deficit was financed by internal and external loans of RM99.85 billion.

The loans were used to repay existing debts and finance the Housing Loan Trust Fund, apart from financing development expenditure, which saw federal ministries and departments spending RM41.99 billion from the approved allocation of RM43 billion.

The report said the final provision for operating expenditure in 2016 was RM212.3 billion, of which RM210.17 billion was spent.

The National Audit Department had audited 25 federal ministries, 18 federal departments and 38 federal statutory bodies in 2016 to check if their financial management was in accordance with related laws and financial regulations.

Audit findings revealed that the overall financial performance of the ministries had improved, compared with the previous two years.

In 2016, all 25 ministries were rated as "excellent", compared to 16 of 25 ministries in 2015 and 20 of 24 ministries in 2014.

Similarly, the federal departments' financial performance showed an improvement, with 16 rated as "excellent" in 2016 and two as "good".

For statutory bodies audited on a three-year rotation basis, the financial management of 16 agencies were rated as "excellent', 19 as "good" and three agencies being "satisfactory".

The audits included the financial management audit on the Youth and Sport Department headquarters and 15 state offices, as well as 13 Social Security Organisations throughout the country.

Aside from mandatory audits, the National Audit Department also carried out special evaluations on the financial management performance of premier grade officers, with 63 of them evaluated in 2016.

-- BERNAMA