The draft state budget for 1995 is not in a position to show us where the Albanian economy is headed
Socialists present the alternative version of the DRAFT BUDGET
- Closed debate yesterday in the Albanian Parliament for a representative of the parliamentary group of the Socialist Party
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anastas Angjeli.
Honourable deputies!
Honourable colleagues from the government,
The budget report for 1995 has been drawn up in a specific economic and financial environment. The 1995 budget is being presented for discussion when the political and economic crisis has reached its peak. The year 1995 has begun with a marked deterioration in the main indicators of the economy. The budget has been presented late, losing its value as an important document of economic and financial policy. The draft budget, as well as the accompanying documents, do not clearly set out either the sources of revenue or the destination of expenditure. It lacks a genuine analysis of developments in the previous year and of the trends in the current year.
Our fundamental criticism concerns the fact that this draft budget does not tell us where the Albanian economy is headed. It does not provide a clear picture of the allocation of resources or of the priorities pursued by the government. On this basis, the Socialist parliamentary group has put forward an alternative version, aimed at bringing more realism, more responsibility and more transparency.
In the official draft, the organic link between fiscal policy and economic development is missing. Revenues have been forecast optimistically, without sufficient support from the actual performance of production, imports and consumption. At the same time, public expenditure remains rigid and distorted, favoring the administration rather than productive sectors, investment and social protection.
The alternative version we are presenting today is based on a few simple principles: increasing revenues by broadening the tax base and improving fiscal administration; a fairer redistribution of public spending; strengthening the role of investment in infrastructure and production; better protection for vulnerable groups and pensioners; and the establishment of stronger financial discipline in the use of budget funds.
Within this framework, we demand that the budget not be seen as a table of figures, but as an instrument of national economic policy. The budget must answer the question: where did a lek of the people and of the Albanian economy come from, and where did it go? Without such accountability, any document remains incomplete and insufficient to guide development.
This is the essence of our criticism and of our proposals.