The Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Kemal Purišić, today accused the MPs of having caused serious problems in the policy of social benefits by adopting a legal solution that allowed mothers with three or more children to receive benefits. He emphasized that parliamentarians "seriously failed" and adopted a discriminatory law.
The Bosniak Party (BS) of which Purišić is the vice-president in the parliament voted for the adoption of amendments to the Law on Child and Social Protection, which made allowances possible. That party acted with an amendment on the proposed changes in order to enable women who are registered with the Employment Service to receive compensation, and with that amendment BS conditioned its support for the law. It is precisely the majority of women (12.767) from the Institute's records who have acquired the right to compensation, which has led to large expenditures from the budget on that basis.
When asked by "Vijesti" why, as a former member of the Parliamentary Committee for the Economy and a high-ranking member of the BS, he did not suggest to his party colleagues not to vote for that act, Purišić replied that at that time he "estimated that there would be a much smaller number of women who would have that right". .
"The ad hoc majority adopted changes to the law. At that time, there were estimates from parliament from several parties that it was about a much smaller number of women and a smaller fiscal impact. At the time, I assessed it as a socially sustainable burden for the budget, and now these things have gotten out of control," said Purišić in the Government Press Center at a press conference.
The conference was attended by Purišić, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy Milutin Simović and Assistant Minister of Finance for the Budget Nikola Vukićević.
Purišić said that initially the assessment was that up to 5.000 mothers would be entitled to compensation and that they would need about 12 million euros, but that it was seriously missed. He added that in December, 21.500 mothers had this right and that around 54 million euros had been paid by then.
The Minister said that the Government took a responsible position when it decided to reduce fees in order to make public finances sustainable. He explained that the compensation, among other things, is disputed on several grounds - that it is higher than the average and lowest pension and in relation to other social benefits, and that it violated the employment system, the PIO Fund system...
Purišić said that "some media" wrongly stated that the child allowance was being abolished. This information was only published by "Vijesti", which copied it from the Government's rehabilitation plan and clearly indicated that the cancellation refers to elementary and high school students whose parents are without material benefits and on the records of the Institute, and that on this basis a total of 4.300 children will not receive 31,8, 1,65 euros per month, which is an annual saving of XNUMX million euros.
"Vijesti" asked Purišić why he did not fight for 1,6 million as a minister and presented to the Government to provide money by collecting concession fees, tax debt from individuals to whom the Government gives guarantees for new loans, by taking money from consumer units that incurred large court costs or from those positions that the State Audit Institution has been pointing to for years in its reports on irrational spending of money. The minister replied that this is a question for the finance minister, and that it is the duty of the ministry he leads to propose sustainable solutions that will not endanger the overall finances.
Purišić announced that by March he will make an analysis regarding the use of child allowance and propose to the Government to make sustainable solutions.
Vukićević said that in 2017 there is no danger of any state garages coming into debt. He explained that the government allocated money to help state-owned enterprises that have problems repaying loans for which guarantees were given.
"These are two shipping companies, Railway Infrastructure and Transport," said Vukićević.
That cost is 8,3 million euros.
Simović: The measures do not threaten the stability of the functioning of the state
Simović said that the public has heard a lot of tendentious and incorrect information regarding the budget proposal for the next year.
The Deputy Prime Minister called some of the public's assessments flat-rate with political-populist contents that are not based on facts and with which the Government is trying to plant untruths.
He said that by adopting that act, the Government aimed to preserve the standard of the total population and employees as much as possible, with a focus on ensuring regular payment of wages and other benefits.
"The measures on the revenue and expenditure side of the budget do not shift the burden on the economy and do not threaten the stability of the functioning state, and care was taken to preserve social justice. The job of a serious and responsible government must not be to flatter the public, but to lead the country responsibly, which sometimes implies certain unpopular but necessary measures that will bring the necessary effects," said Simović.
He repeated that the VAT was not increased, that the salary reduction and, more significantly, total social benefits were not reduced, that the adjustment of pensions was not suspended....
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