update '06 - what's in - what's missing

BACKGROUND - NEWS

Each year, around December or January, officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management release the Half Year Fiscal and Economic Update.

It is one of three financial reports required by law from MFEM each year.

The other two are the Budget Policy Statement and, of course, the Budget itself.

Here, avaiki nius agency presents verbatim sections from the half year update, for readers to get an idea of government performance – from a government perspective.

It is a somewhat limited perspective, often missing details from various parts of our society, as it does this year with such social indicators as violent crime and theft figures completely ignored. Only motor vehicle accidents are listed under crime.

However the half year fiscal and economic update is not fantasy land, containing cautions and even criticism in places.

For example, MFEM officials note that their own Statistics Office are producing statistics that are simply not “plausible.”

What might make the updates more plausible is inclusion of comments from the official opposition.

For now, we have extracted comments from the official PDF document posted to the MFEM website, a format many internet newcomers have difficulty using.

We have put the various sections under headings to make it easier for casual reviewers, critics and supporters alike to zoom in.

For a copy of the complete report, go here.

update overview
economic growth
consumer prices
tourism
pearls
fishing
agriculture
offshore banking
imports and exports
banking and finance
assumptions
government update: an overview
where does government get its money?
what does government spend it?
what does the government owe?
what’s the government worth?
aid flows
specific fiscal risks
population
education
education – grade 4 performance
education – university entance passes
education - teachers
health - communicable disease
health - non communicable disease (NCD)
crime - motor vehicle accidents