Today, the Minister of Finance in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Sinisa Mali, assessed that the new report on fiscal transparency of the State Department, which confirmed that the Republic of Serbia meets the requirements for fiscal transparency, is an excellent indicator of successful reforms and confirmation of excellent economic country policy.
The State Department has been assessing the fiscal transparency of governments around the world since 2008, and the minimum transparency includes the requirement that budget documents be publicly available, complete in content, and generally reliable, disclosure of public debt data, and the existence of a transparent government award process.
Mali stated that the transparency of budget documents is the basis of a democratic society, because citizens must and should know how their money is spent, and reminded that Serbia, in relation to the time when some others ruled, now prepares and adopts the budget as prescribed, and it does not run away from the adoption of the final account, in which the costs are visible.
– This assessment actually reflects the success of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, which is committed to the improvement of this area. In addition to the discussion on the budget, monthly reports on revenues and expenditures, the public is regularly informed about the state of public debt, and among other things, thanks to legal solutions, the business environment in the country is improving even more. Also, every year we create a Civic Guide for the budget, which helps our citizens to better understand what the money is spent on – he said.
He says that he is especially happy that Serbia’s progress in these areas has been recognized, because both the citizens and the economy benefit from the effects of that process to which the state was committed.
– Fiscal transparency allows us to build even greater market confidence and strengthen economic activity. All this should benefit both the economy and the citizens, with the goal of improving economic development and stability, especially in these difficult times due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic – he stated.
He stressed that recognized fiscal transparency is of immeasurable importance for even greater credibility of the country, especially when it comes to the international capital market.
– For the further development of our country, the further development of the financial market is very important, because it affects the development of production, the increase of the gross domestic product and the realization of accumulation. Lately, we have been especially dedicated to green projects, and the plan is for our country to issue green bonds on the international financial market for the first time. In that way, we will provide financing for projects that contribute to environmental sustainability, which is a necessity for the whole world, where more and more is being invested in environmental protection – he stated.
Mali explained that despite the crisis, Serbia managed to reduce the devastating effects of the shocks caused by the coronavirus pandemic, ie to maintain macroeconomic stability, to fulfill its obligations within the agreed deadline, to keep public debt at a stable level, below 60 percent of GDP, as prescribed by the Maastricht Treaty.
– All this is extremely important for the private sector and for citizens who have something to hope for, as we are transparent, as well as achieving and maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability, improved fiscal discipline and thanks to huge progress when it comes to amending laws that improve business environment on the right track to achieve a very high growth rate this year. The expected growth rate in Serbia is six percent, but it will also be higher, up to 6.5 percent, which means that there will be even more money for investments, as well as for the increase of salaries in the public sector and pensions – said Mali and added that he expects by the end of the year, the average salary will be around 600 euros, Novosti reports.
