ZAGREB, Feb 19 (Hina) - Croatia's government defined this year's draft budget on Wednesday evening, with budgetary expenditure projected at 85.08 billion kuna and current revenues projected at 79.4 billion kuna,
ZAGREB, Feb 19 (Hina) - Croatia's government defined this year's draft
budget on Wednesday evening, with budgetary expenditure projected at
85.08 billion kuna and current revenues projected at 79.4 billion
kuna,#L#
Despite some financial obligations which the previous government
transferred into 2004, this year's budget is development-oriented and
socially sensitive, it enables the continuation of investment projects
in road construction, encourages entrepreneurship, has provisions
aimed at improving the situation of the needy, pensioners, war
veterans, mothers on maternity leave and will help the judiciary to
upgrade its efficiency, ministers in the Ivo Sanader Cabinet say.
The draft budget is based on this year's expected growth of GDP of 3.2
percent, average inflation of 2.5 percent, and a previously announced
consolidated state deficit of 4.5 percent of GDP, Finance Minister
Ivan Suker said.
Apart from the said draft budget, the government forwarded also a
draft act on the budget's execution in the parliamentary procedure
under which unemployed mothers on maternity leave will receive the
monthly allowance of 1.600 kuna, and employed mothers 2,500 kuna as of
1 July this year.
The government adopted the most important financial document late
Wednesday evening at a session which started around 8 PM, after a few
delays of its beginning. The reason for that was that the agreement on
the budget was not reached until the very last moment.
Premier Ivo Sanader ascribed these developments to financial burdens
his cabinet inherited from the previous government, namely 21.3
billion kuna which should be secured to pay back credits this year,
plus 6.5 billion kuna which were transferred to this year's state
budget because of "the former government's irresponsible conduct".
Ivo Sanader believes that there are reasons for engaging the State
Audit's Office to review the situation. He accused the previous
government's officials of signing financial agreements also after 23
November 2003 (the date of the parliamentary elections won by
Sanader's Croatian Democratic Union), and said he wondered on whose
behalf they had done this. There is no new minister who has not
discovered this kind of operations in his or her ministry, he added.
According to some budgetary items, the Defence Ministry, which has
been downsized by 7,300 employees, will receive lower budgetary funds
in nominal terms this year in comparison to last year.
The Justice Ministry will receive 1.9 billion kuna of budgetary funds,
and the Science and Education Ministry's budget has been increased by
5.8 percent.
Budgetary funds secured for social welfare entitlements increased by
100 million kuna this year.
Subsidies to farmers rose by 250 million kuna this year as against
2003.
The minister of sea, tourism, transport and development, Bozidar
Kalmeta, announced that 4,500 houses and 1,800 flats would be
reconstructed this year. According to him, the entire process of
reconstruction should wrap up by the summer of 2005.
Programmes for the development of islands can count on 230 million
kuna of budgetary means.
Premier Sanader said that additional 30 million kuna would be secured
for some important projects; the judiciary and science would each get
10 million kuna. Trades, small and medium-sized businesses can expect
five million kuna, while foreign affairs and the fight against drug
addiction will each receive two million kuna.
Croatian Premier announced that his government's budget would include
an item of 20 million kuna for Mostar University, and 30 million kuna
for the Mostar Hospital and health care in this part of
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
(Hina) ms