Skopje, 29 July 2024 (MIA) – Parliament’s Finances and Budget Committee will resume Monday the amendment debate on the 2024 Budget revision, following the conclusion of the general debate on Saturday after three days of discussion. The amendment discussion, for which 58 amendments have been submitted, is scheduled to last six days.

During the general debate, MPs from the ruling parties accused the former government of leaving a substantial budget deficit, which they assured would be managed through efficient governance. The opposition, however, accused the new government of not comprehending the needs of the citizens and of making false promises during the election period.

Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska, on the first day of the debate, pointed out that the budget revision is tailored according to the existing conditions in the Budget and that funds are provided for everything that needs to be paid according to the law.

"With the Budget revision, we are securing funds for all those and everything that was stipulated by law but had no planned funds, namely funds for employees, pensioners, students, companies, as well as for paying obligations such as interest, loans, and the like. We have tried and made maximum savings from everything that lacked execution dynamics and from funds that remained unused. From all non-essential expenses, we managed to find savings of 20 billion denars and allocate them where they were needed," Dimitrieska-Kochoska said.

Total revenues in the Budget revision are planned at 318.2 billion denars, while expenditures are set at 362.8 billion denars. GDP growth is projected at 2.1 percent, inflation at 3.5 percent, and the budget deficit at 4.9 percent.

When adopting the Budget revision, the government also approved several conclusions proposed by the Ministry of Finance. Among these is the requirement that, when concluding collective agreements, budget users should take into account the approved budget funds and not undertake obligations for which there are no allocated funds in the budget for the current year. Additionally, public enterprises and state-owned joint-stock companies will need to seek an opinion from the Ministry of Finance. The Union of workers in administration, judiciary and civic associations (UPOZ) reacted to this, asking whether the suspension of collective agreements is on the horizon.

Photo: MIA archive