Economy Minister Dušan Vujović has announced that Law on Bankruptcy, Privatization and Subsidies would be adopted in July.
He also said that the state-owned telecommunications company Telekom Srbija (Serbia) would “definitely” be privatized.
According to Vujović, the government will “endeavor not to reduce pensions,” adding that “on the other hand, government companies will have to reduce their costs and raise efficiency.”
“Those laws, especially the laws on privatization and bankruptcy, will make it possible to solve the problem of 170 companies that have been undergoing restructuring for years. The laws will offer much faster, more efficient and transparent procedures, whether those companies get privatised or go into bankruptcy,” he noted.
When asked if the plan for the companies in restructuring would be known by the end of the year, he responded that the intention was to start resolving the companies’ situation by the end of 2014, and that the progress would depend on the implementation of the laws on privatization and bankruptcy above all.
Commenting on a potential reduction of salaries and pensions in the country, he stated the government would do its best to minimize the social effects.
“My goal is to minimize the need to for pension and salary cuts by finding ways of saving money in government companies, where it is possible to make a lasting positive effect on the national budget on the scale of hundreds of millions of euros, which will then make the painful measures less so,” Vujović pointed out.
There is lots of room to reduce the expenses in most of the government companies, he thinks.
The minister did not answer directly whether a recession was certain in Serbia, stressing that he expected the economy to come back to life once the investments currently discussed started.
“This is a matter of weeks and months. Investors understand that we have started changing the business environment and are determined in our efforts,” says the minister, adding that he expects 4-5 large deals to be closed by the end of the year.
Serbia’s Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić said on Sunday the government was exploring the possibility of postponing the implementation of its fiscal consolidation measures until autumn, because of the recent catastrophic floods in the country.
“It would mean that we would not touch salaries and pensions at this time,” he told Prva TV, adding that the original intention had been to reduce the salaries now, while the pensions would have been lowered in October.
“It is possible now that salaries will not be touched either,” Vučić noted.
The government funds are in a bad state, so economic reforms are needed as soon as possible, he stated.
Source B92
