The draft 2010 state budget that the opposition has already branded as “a budget of resignation” reduces spending in different sectors of the economy, which, however, does not discourage the ministers in charge of these spheres.

Next year’s budget calls for an expenditure of a total of 859 billion drams (about $2.23 billion), which is by 75 billion drams (about $195 million) less than the budget revenue pattern that had been planned for the current year and by 21 billion drams (about $55 million) less than this year’s planned budgetary expenditure.