The law on Ukraine's state budget for 2013, which was signed by the president, and the bill on the state budget for 2013, which was adopted by parliament on December 6, are two different documents, Batkivschyna faction leader Arseniy Yatseniuk has said.
An analysis of the draft budget, which was posted on the Web site of
the Verkhovna Rada on December 4, and the text of the law, which was
published in the government’s Uriadovy Kurier newspaper on December 19,
shows that before the document was submitted from the Verkhovna Rada to
the Presidential Administration government spending was significantly
increased, whereas expenditures on citizens were significantly reduced,
the press service of the Front for Change Party reported.
Yatseniuk noted that the pro-government majority had adopted the
budget in a hurry – the document containing several hundred pages was
distributed between MPs the day before it was considered, the whole
process of the so-called “discussion” of the main financial document
lasted less than 20 minutes, and no amendments were introduced in
parliament.
While referring to the transcript of a Verkhovna Rada meeting, the MP
said that figures announced by the budget committee’s rapporteur were
different from those that MPs could see in a bill on the state budget
for 2013.
“However, even these figures differ from the final figures,” Yatseniuk said.
“Thus, the expenditures of the state budget in the draft [document]
are UAH 410.7 billion, while those announced by the head of the
concerned committee are UAH 411.9 billion, and after the president’s
signature, this figure rose to UAH 412.1 billion. On the road to Bankova
[Street, where the Presidential Administration is located] revenues
grew from UAH 361.5 billion to UAH 362.8 billion, whereas the state
budget deficit rose from UAH 50.4 billion to UAH 50.5 billion, that is
by UAH 100 million,” reads the statement.
Yatseniuk said that the lion’s share of increased expenditures
accounts for the police – the Interior Ministry received UAH 1 billion
more than envisaged in the draft budget.
In addition, he said, government spending figures are radically
different in the final wording of the budget. In particular, spending on
the maintenance of the Verkhovna Rada was raised by UAH 60 million.
“The Cabinet of Ministers received UAH 60 million more, and this is
over 20%. Although the government promised to reduce spending to UAH
274.5 million, at the same time, it secretly increased it to UAH 334.5
million,” Yatseniuk said.
He said that expenditures on the Justice Ministry had been increased
by UAH 342.8 million and on the State Tax Service by UAH 56.7 million.
The State Affairs Department received UAH 15 million more, and the
National Security and Defense Council UAH 19.4 million more. Spending on
the maintenance of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, the
Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine and the Constitutional Court of
Ukraine was raised by UAH 31.5 million, the politician said.
Instead, the authorities significantly reduced expenditures on social benefits.
“The Social Policy Ministry will receive UAH 20 million less than
expected and institutions for the treatment of patients with cerebral
palsy over UAH 7 million less,” Yatseniuk said.
He said that local budgets would get UAH 160 million less than
planned and that the size of subvention for repairs of water supply and
drainage systems had decreased by UAH 160 million.
