DUSHANBE, October 19, Asia-Plus - Tajikistan’s national budget for 2007 will be nearly 3.2 billion somonis (equivalent to US $944 million), Finance Minister Safarali Najmuddinov remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe yesterday. 

He said state budget indicators reflect the economic and social development of the country.  Social spending will account for 49% of budget allocations, with 15.5% earmarked for public education alone. 

Najmuddinov said revenues are projected to be nearly 3.2 billion somonis (about US $944 million) and expenditures at 3.3 billion somonis (US $973.45 million). 

”GDP growth is projected to rise 7.5 percent next year to 9.95 billion somonis (equivalent to US $3 billion), while the inflation rate is expected to be 7 percent,” the minister said.

The budget projects expenditure of 506 million somonis in the education sector, which is 5.3 percent of the budget. In 2006, public education accounted for 4.5 percent of the budget and in 2006 1.2 percent, according to the minister. 

In 2007, the 6 percent of the budget, or 572 million somonis, is expected to be spent on the energy sector. 

The budget earmarks 5.6 per5cent, or 536 sominis, for the transportation-communication system.

”We plan reduce expenditures on public management personnel,” Najmuddinov said. 

Reviewing the past year’s budget, the minister said that revenue was 1.1538 billion somonis, surpassing the target by 4.4 percent, while spending was at 93.2 percent of projectons.