Yemen's government has adopted a draft budget for 2002 providing for a deficit of 293 million dollars, an official source said Wednesday.
The cabinet approved Tuesday the draft budget, with revenues forecast at 2.835 billion dollars and expenditures 3.128 billion dollars, the source said.
The deficit represents three percent of Yemen's 2001 gross domestic product (GDP), he said.
The fall in oil prices has contributed to the growing budget deficit, compounded by a reduction in the state budget, which forecasts 3.049 billion dollars in revenues and 3.136 billion dollars in expenditure for 2001.
The draft budget must now be accepted by Yemen's parliament and approved by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Yemen, one of the world's least developed countries, currently produces around 480,000 barrels of oil a day.
It has adopted a number of austerity measures in recent years in a bid to cut public spending and improve the economy.
Since 1995 it has been following a program sponsored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to cut subsidies and privatize state industries -- AFP
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
