Skopje, 22 July 2024 (MIA) - The Budget revision is on the agenda of the Parliamentary Finances and Budget Committee session on Thursday. According to the Parliament's website, the session of the Committee is scheduled at 11 am. The Budget revision is expected to be adopted by the first week of August at the latest.

The Government endorsed the Budget revision at its session last Tuesday, and Minister of Finance Gordana Dimitrieska Kochoska presented more details at a news conference the next day. 

GDP growth has been revised from 3.4 percent to 2.1 percent, while inflation is projected at a level of 3.5 percent. A slowdown in the growth of inflation is expected in H2 of 2024, i.e. stabilization of food and energy prices, as well as more moderate pressure from basic inflation.

Total revenues in the budget are planned at 318 billion 150 million denars, up by 8.22 billion, while expenditures are planned at 362 billion 816 million denars, an increase of 19,178 billion denars.

According to the Finance Minister, the changes to the Budget are aimed at revising the initial fiscal projections in accordance with the macroeconomic trends in H1 of 2024, restructuring budget expenditures to service the most priority obligations, as well as optimizing the sources of financing the budget deficit.

“I’ve promised I’ll always be sincere with the citizens. We came across a situation suggesting the state is in chaos and in debts, a wish list instead of development. The economy is clinically dead,” the Finance Minister stated last Wednesday.

Dimitrieska Kochoska noted that the Budget revision secures 4.1 billion denars for salaries, including 1.1 billion for block grants that weren’t planned in the main budget, 5 billion denars for pensions, 600 million denars for payments in line with court decisions, 1 billion denars for the payment of legal financial assistance in the zones, which has not been provided, 322 million denars for the State Election Commission which have not been planned for payment to the media according to the Electoral Code, 644 million denars for student meal and for scholarships, etc. 

At the Government's session last Tuesday, several conclusions proposed by the Ministry of Finance were also endorsed.

Budget users are required, among other, to take into account the approved Budget funds and not to undertake obligations regarding which they have not secured funds in the Budget for the current year and the determined maximum amounts of expenditures in the medium term when concluding collective agreements.

Public enterprises and state-owned joint-stock companies should request an opinion from the Ministry of Finance when concluding collective agreements. During the implementation of the Budget, the budget users should not undertake obligations beyond the funds provided by the Budget for the corresponding fiscal year.

Budget users who carry out self-financing activities and have unused funds in the form of account balances should finance current operation of the institutions by using funds from their own accounts instead of using Budget funds.

Municipalities, public enterprises and state-owned trading companies are recommended to consolidate their finances, i.e. take actions to collect their own incomes as well as reduce unproductive spending.

In addition, the Government recommends that employers from the public sector take immediate action to implement a functional analysis and report findings to the Government.

Photo: MIA archive