KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s budget for fiscal year 2018-19 has no room for surprises. There was a projected deficit for a fourth year in a row and following 15 years of surpluses. The traditional practice of underestimating revenues and overestimating expenditures continues.
Kuwait, unlike other Gulf states, runs its fiscal year from April to March. The authorities tend to release a draft budget ahead of the fiscal year in order for the parliament to make deliberations on the various appropriations. Kuwait has an active legislative body with MPs noted for pressing the government to reach out to nationals with generous financial goodies.
This concept is designed to ensure that no generation enjoys the country’s wealth at the expense of others, something of a wise decision. In retrospect, the practice proved its usefulness in 1990 for helping financing the war of liberation following Saddam’s invasion.
