Slovak News Back to the news
IMF: Government Should Concentrate on Reform of Public Finances
Tuesday 23 November 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, November 23 (TASR) - Slovakia should prepare reforms of institutions operating in the sphere of public finances next year. These should include the drawing-up of new rules, the setting-up of a fiscal council that would oversee their observance, and the introduction of medium-term expenditure ceilings, International Monetary Fund (IMF) analysts have recommended.
"After approving the budget for 2011, the Slovak authorities can concentrate on a debate on setting up a new institutional make-up that will increase the credibility of its fiscal policy, maintain fiscal sustainability and increase budgetary transparency," stated an IMF mission that visited Slovakia last month.
Slovakia's main fiscal goal in the medium-term is to squeeze the public finance deficit below 3 percent of GDP by 2013. In order to achieve this, a more detailed medium-term strategy is needed, including strict supervision over expenditures. The Fund therefore recommends setting up a 2-percent ceiling for real growth of public expenditures in 2012 and 2013.
The Government's plans to keep the 2011 deficit to 4.9 percent would require intense supervision and possible cuts in state expenditures, said IMF, adding that these measures should be monitored and enforced especially at the local council level and in healthcare.
All rights reserved. Any publishing or further dissemination of press releases and photographs from TASR's resources without TASR's prior written approval constitutes a violation of the Copyrights Act.
