Nearly MVR 500 million is allocated for pay harmonization of health sector staff in the state budget 2023, said Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer.

Minister Ameer stated this while presenting the proposed state budget of 2023, at Monday's sitting of the People's Majlis.

During the sitting, Minister Ameer noted that work is ongoing to harmonize the pay of all government staff. As such, he stated that the National Pay Commission is working on the new pay structures.

Minister Ameer went on to note that human resources are the most important in providing health care, and highlighted that the next sector to get pay harmonization would be the health sector. As such, the budget for health centers that provide services for 24 hours have been increased, said the Minister.

The Minister also noted that MVR 40.3 million is allocated in the budget to increase the number of healthcare workers. It is noted in the budget that the administration aims to employ 1,000 more staff into the health sector.

The proposed budget for 2023 notes that the pay structure of the education sector was changed in 2022, under the pay harmonization scheme. Ministry of Finance states that the aim is to bring changes to the pay structures of all government institutions in a way that will not hinder the state budget.

The proposed budget of 2023 notes that nearly MVR 500 million is allocated to pay harmonization of doctors, nurses and health professionals. The amount is allocated under the expenditure spent on staff under the new policy initiatives of the administration.

Moreover, the expenditure for the pension of staff is also allocated under the amount.

Ministry of Finance states that MVR three billion is estimated to be spent on implementing the pay harmonization scheme.

The proposed expenditure for the year 2023 shows that the highest amount will be spend on staff wages and allowances. As such, it is projected that the expenditure of staff wages and allowances will increase by 5.17 percent, compared to the ongoing year.