Comoros Spent Just 15% of Planned Domestic Investment in Second Quarter

The Comoros spent just 14.81% of the amount planned for domestically financed public investment in the second quarter of 2026, according to a Finance Ministry budget-execution report released on 5 October. The gap contrasts with spending on externally financed projects, which exceeded its quarterly plan by more than half. The two figures point to a sharp difference between projects supported by the country's own budget and those funded from outside.

The ministry's eight-page second-quarter execution report, covering 1 April to 30 June 2026, records KMF493,191,958 in investment financed from domestic resources against a quarterly projection of KMF3,330,250,000. That is 14.81% of the quarter's plan, leaving approximately KMF2.84 billion in planned expenditure unexecuted during that period. These are expenditure-execution figures, not evidence that the money was stolen or permanently lost.

The same report puts spending on externally financed public investment projects at KMF18,446,672,045, compared with a quarterly projection of KMF12,069,750,000, an execution rate of 152.83%. These figures refer to different financing streams and should not be added together as if they measured a single missed project target.

What the ministry says caused the gap

In its analysis of expenditure, the ministry explicitly attributes the weak performance of domestically funded investment to internal cash-flow constraints. It recommends streamlining public procurement validation procedures to accelerate projects financed from domestic resources. It does not identify individual delayed contracts, contractors or unpaid invoices in the summary, and the reported execution shortfall is not itself an audit finding of corruption.

The government's wider fiscal picture was mixed. Total revenue and grants reached KMF33.20 billion in the quarter, above the KMF32.31 billion plan, while domestic revenue came in at KMF16.29 billion, or 79.05% of its projection. External resources were KMF16.91 billion, equivalent to 144.49% of the quarterly target.

Local newspaper Al-Fajr reported the stronger overall revenue-and-grants performance on 29 September, while also noting the domestic revenue shortfall and dependence on external financing. The separate publication L'Economiste du Mali likewise reported the revenue split on 1 October. Those accounts discuss the same government figures; they are not independent audits of project delivery.

The ministry recorded KMF34.12 billion in total quarterly expenditure and a reported overall budget deficit of KMF916.8 million, substantially narrower than the reported KMF14.95 billion deficit for the corresponding quarter in 2025. That improvement does not negate the separate problem of slow execution of domestic investment.

The report also says wages absorbed 56.95% of quarterly tax receipts, above the annual 52.41% benchmark in the 2026 finance law. A quarterly ratio above an annual target does not, on its own, establish that the full-year limit was breached.

What remains to be checked

The published summary does not identify which domestically financed infrastructure, energy or service projects were delayed, whether approvals were subsequently completed, or whether third-quarter expenditure closed the gap. Contract-level execution records, the next quarterly budget report and any parliamentary response would allow the public to assess whether the shortfall was temporary or reflected persistent obstacles to delivering planned projects.

The original government report is dated by the ministry's publications index to 5 October 2026. Its figures describe April–June, not spending in November. No allegation of criminal misuse or individual wrongdoing is established by the documents reviewed.