BRATISLAVA, March 4, (WEBNOVINY) — Finance Minister Ivan Miklos said at a news conference on Friday that the goal of keeping the public finance deficit at the level of 4.9 percent of GDP and its reduction from last year’s 7.8 percent of GDP remains the government’s main priority. “Revitalization of public finances is a key priority overtopping other priorities,“ said Miklos.
The minister reminded, that despite the halved year-on-year deficit registered in the first two months of this year, this year’s budget, which accounts for the biggest part of public finances, has its risks, chiefly healthcare and railways. The minister claims that these areas must be restructured otherwise the state will definitively not increase the funds for them. “One risk is called healthcare and the mounting debt of hospitals, especially those in the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Healthcare where the situation is bad. That is one of the reasons why the government tasked the health minister to elaborate an analysis of the situation and draft measures that could halt the increasing indebtedness,“ said Miklos on Friday. The second risk would be postponement of restructuring of railway companies. “I believe we have moved forward and these risks will be eliminated and will not endanger revitalization of public finances,“ he added.
The minister repeated that he would not assent to any financial injection to these sectors unless recovery measures are adopted. He said that the ministry is aware of the fact that debts of hospitals will have to be settled so that they can be transformed to joint stock companies because otherwise they would go bankrupt. “I condition this debt settlement on adoption of further measures that would prevent constant generation of losses,“ said Miklos.
The situation in railway transport sector is similar. The minister claims that he is ready to hike expenses for the sector next year following the restructuring process and slashing overstaffing.
SITA