There’s room for reducing the so-called non-productive costs in the budget for business travel, fuel and representation, members of governing coalition and the opposition agree. While drawing up budget, Government makes cuts, but not everywhere. It even makes increases (inspection and police for example), in order not to jeopardize smooth functioning. Members of the opposition hold that public sector spends money without restrictions although there’s room for radical cuts. The item “others” in the budget is specifically criticized as it has been spent over €50 million for the “others” purposes in the last five years.
Total budget expenditures for the next year are projected to amount to €2,57 billion.
Costs for business travel, fuel and representation are just a part of total budgetary expenditure.
According to plans, a total of €5,4 million is intended for business travel, €10 million for fuel and €548.000 for the purposes of representation.
In the current year, budget envisaged €5,06 million for business travel, €9,3 million for fuel and €668.000 for representation.
Comparative budget data on business travel for the current and next year indicates that the amount has been reduced in a great number of budgetary units, but in some of them, it has been increased.
Business-related trips in the Ministry of Finance have been reduced (€from 41.300 to €26.700) in 2019. In the Ministry of Defense, costs for business travel have been reduced from €229.400 to €150.000. Ministry of Transport also saw a drop in business travel (from €56.000 to €28.100).
Police Department will have higher budget next year (from €693.000 to €800.000), and so will Tax Administration (from €239.900 to €242.600) and State Election Commission (from €6.100 to €16.500).
Minister of Finance, Mr Darko Radunović, said that they had tried to reduce the so-called non-productive costs to minimum, but that “there was always need for an increase for specific units, such as police services”.
Minister announced earlier that a drop in costs in the domain of insurance, communication services and provision of office material was expected through more efficient public procurement for the purposes for state authorities.
RATIONALIZATION
Pobjeda journalists asked representatives of the government and opposition if there was room for additional reduction of representation and business travel costs.
Independent MP and former president of the Assembly Committee on Economy, Mr Aleksandar Damjanović, said that data showed that there was no essential rationalization in the expenditures side of the budget.
“Continuity of budgetary policy reflects in the fact that there’s no radical expenditure in the budget. The enormous and mostly politicized administration is used to some sort of additional stimulus and leisure spending. Creators of budgetary policy know it very well but they do not resort to radical cuts because they don’t want to jeopardize political support they draw from state administration”, said Mr Damjanović.
The fact that between one fourth and one third of budgetary funds is provided through loans and borrowings, means that budget deficit and public debt exceeding the limit defined by law should be reason enough to considerably reduce non-productive spending.
Dr Božo Mihailović, professor at the Faculty of Economics, said that there was room for reduction in spending.
Dr Mihaliović thinks that a 5% reduction in the budget for 2020 would be a way to go.
“I think it’s not too late for that. Anyone can save a little bit”, said Dr Mihailović.
He thinks we need to save and reduce administration and spending of specific budgetary units.
Sekulić: To determine priorities
DPS MP and president of the Assembly Committee on Economy, Mr Predrag Sekulić, said to Pobjeda that there was always room for reduction in costs.
However, that reduction should not jeopardize work of any state authority, believes Mr Sekulić.
“Priorities should be determined first”, says Mr Sekulić.