The Government of Montenegro will continue and in the following year with the irrational and arrogant spending of citizens’ money through financing of a hue state apparatus and a series of privileges for its officers, instead of a part of that money to be invested into the construction of maternity hospitals, kindergartens and day care centers, shows the analysis of the Budget Draft for2015, which is currently
in parliamentary procedure.
Specifically, the Government will in the coming year, in addition to regular salaries to employees in the state apparatus only on the basis of other personal income, pay an additional 11.6 million. Of this amount, the largest amount of eight million is planned for the so-called “other fees”, which are mainly related on payments for work in the working groups for the various proposals of laws, rules, studies.
The State Audit Institution earlier founded that these payments are illegal, since they are the ordinary jobs of state officials, while the Central Bank stated in the recommendations for the economy policies for 2014 that “if is necessary existence a significant number of working groups, commissions and committees, it should be considered the possibility of cancellation of compensation to members in order to reduce costs. “
However, the Government on this basis further from the state budget provides additional benefits for ministers, assistant of ministers and junior civil officials, and how big the amount is the best shows the fact that the amount planned for the “other fees” represents almost half of the sum
which is annually paid on the basis of financial benefits for families.
In addition, it is well known that to the ministers and civil officials are available and other benefits such as the use of company’s cars, fuel costs or phones, and per daily payment for official travel, witch are all the expenses that Government instead of significant saving, in the Budget Draft for 2015 lowered a little bit or maintained in the same level.
So for the cost of fuel, phones, representations and official travel plans, it is planned spending as much as 20.5 million Euros, while at the same time for the budget line for “consulting services and projects “, which spending units abuse to the maximum level for payments for travel expenses, fuel and other things, will be spent an additional 25 million Euros.
If only a third of the money from these items was focused in building maternity hospital, kindergarten or day care centers, the state would be able to offer to its citizens much better health and social protection comparing to one that we currently “enjoy”.
In addition, although the Law on Civil Officials and Employees prohibits employment on the basis of contract, by the Budget Draft for 2015 almost in every consumer units are planned expenses for the payments of the contracts in the amount of up to 4.5 million Euros.
In its report on the revision of the Budget for 2012, the State Audit Institution this kind of employment assessed as illegal and recommended to the Government to stop with such practice. However, the Government persists in maintaining this model of employment, which is one of the most important mechanisms of pressure on employees in the election period.
Also, the Government plans to resume borrowing and the disastrous debts policies of incredible 650 million Euros, as well as the issuance of new government guarantees in the amount of up to 101 million Euros. In that way it planned that for the controversial project for the construction of submarine cable with Italy, which is already delayed several years, issues to the Montenegrin power system a new guarantee of 40 million Euros.
The Government will issue a guarantee of 50 million and for another not less controversial project, which refers to a loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund for development of agriculture, about which institutions hide all official data.
It is also incomprehensible that the guarantee of five million Euros is again planned for Montenegrin Solidarity Fund for housing construction, although in 2009 to the same fund issued a guarantee of 3.8 million Euros, and it was charged two years later.
Only in the last few years, due to the disastrous policies of the Government in issuing guarantees, primarily to the AP and Ironworks from Niksic, from the state budget was paid approximately150 million Euros, which citizens paid for through taxes “euro per euro”, in away that their
taxes on wages and VAT are increased or pensions are frozen.
If the Budget Draft for 2015 is adopted in the form proposed by the Government of Montenegro, that will be a new round economic exhaustion of citizens, but also further plunge of public finances.
MANS
