The Action for Social Justice (ASP) announced today that the technical Government of Dritan Abazović has increased by about 58 million those budget expenditures, which in the upcoming election period can mean achieving political advantage on the ground for the party benefit of members of the minority Government.
"It is about a series of influences through the budget, which in earlier years were worked out by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) with its allies, and the Rebalancing Proposal shows that by the end of the year, the "last euro" will be drained from the state coffers, until it is offered no answer when and where the state will borrow for the next year, in which, according to official data, the deficit will be 600 million. Pensioners will receive one-time benefits in the total amount of 15 million euros "in order to mitigate the effects of strong price growth and reduced living standards ". The minority government, whose ministers were unconstitutionally seated in their seats back in May, finally remembered to give pensioners some help, which coincides with the election period, even though numerous appeals were made all the previous months to help them promptly, because from In the spring, citizens are exposed to a strong impact of price increases," the ASP press release points out.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) added that in the upcoming election period, the Government will also think about the elderly, who are beneficiaries of the so-called old-age allowances, and is increasing that item by an additional two million euros.
"We are talking about old people, who are engaged in agriculture and do not have any other income. They were also in the previous months, and despite the severe economic and social crisis in the country, outside of special government aid policies. Rural farms can be happy that the minority technical government will increase support by 700 thousand euros for "improving the quality of life and expanding economic activities in rural areas, and for solving the problems of roads and water infrastructure". waterworks, breaking rural roads and the like during election periods, so they obviously learned the lesson of increasing the budget item for those purposes even in the minority government," said the ASP.
They said that the subsidies will also be increased by 3,5 million euros, mostly at the Employment Office.
"The minority government states that it needs an additional three million for employers who want to employ people with disabilities, but does not offer more data on why the business sector is so interested in something. It is a long-standing problem that more people with disabilities are employed. In addition, it plans an additional 300 thousands of euros for grants for self-employment. The programs of the Employment Institute, which can have a huge influence especially in election periods for the benefit of political parties, were developed by the former DPS government, and one of the former heads of the Institute, and today a senator of the State Audit Institution, Zoran Jelić , he was remembered for the famous catchphrase, one employee, four votes," ASP said.
The NGO also said that the minority government will show special sensitivity towards the workers of some failed Montenegrin companies.
"Thus, in addition to at least 25 million euros for a potential "buying and selling" arrangement for "Željezara" from Nikšić, and without any relevant business analysis for the justification of that deal, another 200 is planned for the obligations of the former workers of the aluminum plant and another 200 for salary contributions , among other things for employees of Montenegro Airlines. Judging by what is shown in the budget rebalancing proposal, even the party-nepotist staff has not been forgotten, because since the beginning of the year, the amount for work contracts has been increased by 2,9 million and this year will be spent a mere 14,8 .XNUMX million. No government has given up on these employments, which are justified only in exceptional situations, and which are in fact a "shortcut" to introduce party- or nepotism-related persons into the public administration," the announcement reads.
The ASP also said that the minority government increased the so-called "black box" of the budget, that is, the budget reserve by as much as 18,2 million euros, so it amounts to an incredible 85,7 million euros.
"With the rebalancing, seven million of the planned increase was allocated for health needs, and 2,5 million for strengthening the state's information system, while the remaining 8,7 million is unknown, which is certainly a huge space to exercise a certain political influence during the election period. The item that "other capital expenditures" is increased from seven thousand to ten million euros is also indicative, while the budget rebalancing does not indicate that the minority government is ready for even more significant savings (the costs of fuel, electricity, official trips, representation are higher), and that it does not occur to her to scratch the surface of the overburdened public administration and excessive employment, which literally consumes most of the current budget, i.e. this year around 630 million for gross wages and other related costs (personal income, consulting services, fees, employment contracts)" , they said from ASP.
They also said that finally, it should be emphasized that "other fees" have been increased since the beginning of the year by 5,5 million and that a total of 14,5 million has been allocated for these purposes.
"It is about the cost of the administration for something that is their regular work, through various commissions, working groups and the like, and usually when it comes to the "favorites" of the elders of the body, but also about famous officials' fees, which is a legacy from the time of the DPS and gives the right to certain categories of public servants to live at the expense of the citizens for a year after the termination of their functions, and do nothing," concludes the announcement of the ASP.
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