2021 Settlement Bill : Points Of Interest

In conformity with legal dispositions, the Settlement Bill for the 2021 financial year has been tabled in Parliament for scrutiny by lawmakers. Containing four major parts, the document presents an execution rate of the State budget for 2021. It presents the implementation context, overall execution, budget deficit and coverage of the 2021 State budget financing need. The 2021 Finance Law provided for a State budget balanced in revenue and expenditure at FCFA 5,480.4 billion, that is FCFA 5,235.2 billion for the general budget and FCFA 245.2 billion for Special Appropriation Accounts. According to the legal instrument, revenue was realised to the tune of FCFA 5,173.6 billion and expenditure was executed to the tune of FCFA 5,264.4 billion, representing 96 per cent of projected expenditure. 
On budget deficit for the 2021 financial year, the 2021 State budget’s net revenue forecast stood at FCFA 3,504 billion and expenditure at FCFA 4,587.3 billion. The difference which represented the estimated budget deficit was FCFA 1,083 billion or 3.2 per cent of projected GDP. Given that revenue collected, going by the Bill stood at FCFA 3,559.4 billion and expenditure (excluding debt) at FCFA 4,406.0 billion, State budget execution showed a deficit of FCFA 846.6 billion or 3.4 per cent projected GDP which is below the FCFA 1,083 billion estimated in the 2021 Finance Law. 
Financing need was projected at FCFA 2,394.8 billion in the 2021 Finance Law but rather stood at FCFA 2,101.8 billion at the 2021 financial year end, owing mainly to a lower than projected budget deficit. Coverage of the 2021 State budget financing need comprised budget deficit, debt servicing (projected at FCFA 1,219.5 billion but executed to the tune of FCFA 1,145.3 billion), VAT credit funds, and net cash outflows (estimated at FCFA 20 billion but executed to the tune of FCFA 43 billion).  In order to cover the said ...