The shortening of finance has started
By Keti Arjevanidze
Thursday, November 1
The main parameters of the 2013 budget will not be changed dramatically, announced Nodar Khaduri, the Minister of Finance, after the government assembly on October 31. Khaduri marked indirect expenses from the government’s budget, adding that the indirect, over expenses, were not only from the central but from the local budget as well.
According to Khaduri, to investigate the cases of over expenditures, the prosecutor's office will be involved. He also did not exclude the involvement of the finance ministry’s investigation department. Khaduri added that there may appear the necessity of inviting the alternative audit in order to determine not only the directions but the amount of the expenses.
“Not only is the direction under suspicion, but the real value of the performed work on which transfers are done. Among those projects are the infrastructural projects– for example the parliament building on which more that 34 million GEL was spent. The building for working is practically useless,” said the minister.
According to him, the funds in the budget will be distributed and will be used only for solving the duties which the government has spoken about. Khaduri said that considerable problems in the current situation is heath, namely the general insurance, also the regulation of the pension, from the next year there will be a minimum of pension, the changes also will touch the field of education. The budget will also increase the financing of agriculture, with the development of alternative agriculture.
One of the main issues on which Khaduri touched on was the financing shortening of Finance Ministry. The shortening in the ministry will be by 10%, namely for 10 million GEL. “We are not going to build the institutions, the existence of which is not necessary at this moment”, stated Khaduri.
Khaduri stated that there are some types of expenditures on which he has negotiations with colleagues, with the minister of defence and the minister of internal affairs.
The minister explained that the shortening of finance will not induce the decrease of employees’ salaries. According to the minister there will be the staff changes but professionals will maintain the job.
After government assembly on October 31, the minister of finance named the deputies: Giorgi Tabuashvili will monitor the budget, Davit Lezhava will work on foreign affairs in the department and Davit Ebralidze will take the post of budget secretary in the ministry of finance.
