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PM Marković at PMQs: Public Administration Rationalization Plan and most of Fiscal Consolidation Measures give results

Published on: May 28, 2019 • 8:00 PM Author: PR Service
The public administration optimization plan is working, total employment in public administration has been reduced by 1.4 percent according to data from December 2018, compared to the same month of the previous year, in 2018 budget expenditures for gross wages within the central budget have been reduced to around 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), which is in line with the Fiscal Strategy projection, and the 2019 Budget Law to reduce them to a level below 10 percent of GDP while the new state administration organization, which came into force on 1 January this year, decreased the number of administrative bodies from 35 to 29, while the capacity of the administration as a civil service was not threatened – Prime Minister Duško Marković said at the Prime Minister's Questions in response to a question from the Parliamentary Club of the Social Democratic Party to evaluate the Government's policy in rationalizing public administration.

The Prime Minister said that the Plan of Optimization does not imply the dismissal of employees at the expense of the quality of providing public services, but that this is a process that will, due to good planning in optimal time, lead to an increase in the quality of work with rationalization of jobs, and relocation of employees from the administration in the economy and other industries, in accordance with the best practices and needs of citizens.

Responding to the second part of the question to assess the fact that EUR 20 million less of excise tax on tobacco products was collected in 2018 than in 2017, the Prime Minister said that total revenues from excise duties in 2017 were about EUR 10 million higher than what is planned by the Fiscal Strategy and that according to the comparative data of the Ministry of Finance for 2017 and 2018, the volume of sales of tobacco products decreased by 43%, while budget revenues from the excise decreased by 27% in the first 6 months of 2018.

"We do not have a magic wand to make things better at once. It is realistic that some measures will overcome the expected results and that some will not even be achieved at all," Prime Minister Duško Marković said and added that the Government therefore saw the drop in projected revenues as a signal to change excise instruments – so the amendment of excise policy on tobacco and tobacco products, as well as on carbonated drinks with added sugar were introduced.

According to the Ministry of Finance data, the volume of sales of tobacco products for the first four months of 2019 is 176.54 t, and compared to the same period of the previous year (131.52 t), it is higher by 34.23%. Furthermore, data on the quantity of excise stamps ordered for the first four months of 2019 show that about 32% more excise stamps were ordered compared to the same period last year.

"Total revenues from excise duties in 2018 amounted to EUR 221 million, which, according to preliminary data on the budget execution in 2018, represents a lower realization than the plan by about EUR 11.5 million. Therefore, by redefining the excise policy, the decline in collection of revenues on this basis has stopped and the assumptions for the growth of turnover on the tobacco market have been created," PM Marković said.

The Prime Minister said that the measures of Fiscal consolidation proved to be well balanced, which is confirmed by Montenegro's strengthened position in international financial markets, strong economic growth of close to 5% per year and significant employment growth.

In his reply to MP Raško Konjević, the Prime Minister welcomed his dedicated and pedantic monitoring of the work of the Ministry of Finance.

"Personally, I appreciate that, and I am sure that the Ministry of Finance responsibly analyzes your remarks and warnings. Nevertheless, we will agree that your position is more comfortable than ours in the administration who create economic policy, because it carries responsibility and requires a thorough approach in every hour and day of our professional engagement. Therefore, I want this dialogue to be an incentive to the whole opposition to not only treat the processes negatively, but comprehensively, with their bad and good effects, and thus contribute to solving the challenges," Prime Minister Duško Marković said.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO

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