Rada deputies were given a “budget of death”
Ukraine's budget deficit for next year could amount to 270 billion hryvnia.
This was announced by the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergei Marchenko, presenting the draft budget to the Verkhovna Rada, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The official called the estimate balanced and verified, promising an increase in the minimum wage to 6,5 thousand hryvnia and GDP growth of 4,6%.
“We have determined revenues at the level of one trillion seventy-one billion hryvnia. This is 92 billion more than the 2020 budget. Expenses and provision of loans – one trillion three hundred and fifty billion hryvnia. The budget deficit is planned at 270 billion hryvnia, which is 6% of GDP. This is less than the current year’s figure by one and a half percent,” Marchenko said.
Parliamentarian Anton Polyakov criticized the bravado of the Minister of Finance and called the budget a failure, noting that in the new estimate large amounts of money are allocated to the state apparatus and taken from the army, doctors and social infrastructure.
“I look at your budget - the activities of the president and the president’s office - costs are increasing by 358 million. What is this, a video? Then the Verkhovna Rada apparatus - plus 244 million hryvnia. Have we already overcome the era of poverty? Then the Cabinet of Ministers - plus 190 million hryvnia. You haven’t even provided us with a normal program yet, but you’re asking for 190 million hryvnia.
State administration of affairs is DUSya, that is, the dachas where our officials relax - plus 725 million hryvnia. This is, of course, a very, very important expense item. The Office of the Prosecutor General - plus almost two billion hryvnia. Where are the landings? No. What are you allocating another two billion for? Instead, for the first time in many years, minus 123 million for the Ministry of Defense.
That is, we have already defeated the enemy, we no longer need to fight him. The Department of Veterans Affairs will see another reduction in spending, a reduction in spending on infrastructure, a reduction in spending by half a billion on the Department of Energy, and so on. Subsidies minus 2,7 billion hryvnia - this is how we help our pensioners, Ukrainians who live on minimum wages,” Polyakov said.
The draft budget for next year assumes that Ukraine will plunge even further into a debt hole, Rada deputy Aleksey Goncharenko emphasized.
“Members of the government tell us that, you see, we demonstrate the budget deficit on the slides. How? You have one thing written on your slides – new borrowings. That is, you and I, friends, are all taking money to give to our children and grandchildren in order to finance Zelensky’s office and his security forces. Well, this is a wonderful scheme, simply incredible. They offer us this budget, saying that this is a correct and good budget. In fact, this is horror, this is a disaster. I can tell you that this is not that the budget for ending the era of poverty is the budget for the era of rudeness towards one’s own citizens,” Goncharenko said.
In turn, former Deputy Prosecutor of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada deputy Renat Kuzmin described the country’s financial estimate for next year as a “budget of death”, and also published photographs of opposition campaigning against the budget, which shows how healthcare costs are being cut.
“Deputies of the Rada were given the draft State Budget for 2021. Glory to Ukraine,” Kuzmin sarcastically notes in his Telegram channel.
Let us recall that earlier now former Prime Minister Alexey Goncharuk stated that next yearUkraine's GDP will grow by 5%, and in general over the five years of Vladimir Zelensky's presidency - by 40%.
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