Consolidated Fund registers surplus of €21.2 million

Two hurt as two cars collide, crash into three parked cars

Two people were hurt on Thursday night when the cars they were driving collided and crashed into three parked cars, the police said.

The accident happened in St Joseph High Road, Santa Venera, at 11.15pm.

A BMW 320D driven by a 19year-old man, resident in Marsaxlokk, and a Mazda Demio driven by a 57-year-old of Gżira were involved in a collision. The two cars crashed into three parked vehicles.

The teenager suffered grievous injuries while the 57-year-old was slightly hurt. In January-April 2017, Government’s Consolidated Fund registered a surplus of €21.2 million, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

Compared to the same period last year, recurrent revenue registered an increase of €158.3 million whereas total expenditure went up by €59.6 million. This resulted in a positive change in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by €98.7 million.

In January-April 2017, recurrent revenue was recorded at €1,221.3 million, up from €1,063.0 million last year. The comparative increase of 14.9% was primarily the result of higher Grants and Income Tax which increased by €59.8 million and €22.0 million respectively. Moreover, increases were also recorded for Value Added Tax (€20.4 million), Fees of Office (€18.8 million), Social Security (€15.6 million), Customs and Excise Duties (€9.2 million), Licences, Taxes and Fines (€9.0 million) and Rents (€6.0 million) among others. Conversely, decreases were recorded in Miscellaneous Receipts (€3.8 million) and Dividends on Investment (€0.5 million).

Compared to January-April last year, total expenditure stood at €1,200.0 million up from €1,140.5 million due to added outlays on recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure which outweighed lower spending on interest payments.

Recurrent expenditure stood at €1,048.3 million from €996.2 million last year. The main contribu- tors to this increase were Programmes and Initiatives and Contributions to Government Entities with a rise of €33.7 million and €15.8 million respectively. The main developments in the Programmes and

Initiatives category involved added outlays due to Health Concession Agreements (€13.7 million), EU Presidency 2017 (€8.3 million), higher EU Own Resources (€7.6 million), state contribution (€5.4 million which also features as revenue), social security benefits (€4.7 million) and public service obligations (€2.3 million). On the other hand, lower outlays for Medicines and Surgical Materials were recorded (€11.2 million). Decreases were registered in Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€4.2 million).

The interest component of the public debt servicing costs stood at €74.1 million, down from €77.0 million last year.

Government’s capital expenditure witnessed an increase of €10.3 million, and was recorded at €77.6 million. This was mainly the result of ICT Core Services Agreement (€3.9 million), higher spending on road construction improvements (€3.8 million) and investment incentives subvention (€3.1 million)

At the end of April 2017, Central Government Debt stood at €5,613.6 million, up by €22.2 million over the corresponding month last year. This was the result of higher Malta Government Stocks and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury, which added €153.9 million and €4.4 million respectively.

On the other hand, Treasury Bills and Foreign Loans went down by €110.7 million and €10.4 million respectively. Higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €15.0 million.