Besimi: We remain committed to reforms, processes ahead got IMF’s support
Skopje, 15 October 2022 (MIA) – Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi met with Director of the European Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Alfred Kammer, IMF’s Executive Director Paul Hilbers, and Head of the IMF Mission to North Macedonia Bergljot Barkbu, as part of the IMF-WBG Annual Meetings in Washington.
Talks focused on reforms in the management of public finances and their implementation by the Ministry of Finance.
Besimi pointed out that although the Government's focus is on dealing with the energy crisis and overcoming it with the least possible negative consequences, it is continuously working on the reform agenda that will bring the country closer to European standards and enable accelerated growth, the Ministry of Finance said in a press release.
“We are committed to our planned reform agenda which means greater transparency in the management of public finances. A significant step in that is the adoption of the new Law on Budgets. This means a new concept in budgeting based on results and measuring their performance, which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditures. All of this will mean greater transparency and greater control over the spending of citizens' money collected in the budget,” Minister Besimi said.
He added that the reforms refer not only to the expenditure side of the budget, but also to the income side, for which a tax reform concept has been prepared based on the adopted Tax Reform Strategy. A wide public debate has been opened on the tax reform, and the final version will incorporate a significant part of the points presented in the public debates.
Talks also tackled the measures taken to mitigate the price blow, reduce grey economy, as well as the implementation of fiscal consolidation, fiscal decentralization, speeding up green transition and digitalization. Participants in the meeting agreed that coordination between monetary and fiscal policy is going well, in the domain of strengthening financial stability and preserving growth. Interlocutors pointed out that the implementation of reforms is accompanied by a high degree of fiscal transparency and accountability, and the support that the country had in this area from the IMF will continue in the future.
