MINSK, 3 January (BelTA) - This year, 45% of the consolidated budget will be earmarked to finance the social sector, Chairman of the Standing Commission on Budget and Finance of the House of Representatives Lyudmila Nizhevich told BelTA.
"The budget has retained the social focus. Some 45% of the consolidated budget funds will be earmarked to finance the social sector. Appropriate expenses are projected to increase by 8% over 2021. Overall expenses of the national budget are forecast to go up by 4.4% from 2021. Thus we see that the government will continue to support the social sector," Lyudmila Nizhevich noted.
Particular attention is paid to salaries of public sector employees. "The average salary of public sector employees is projected at Br1,241, or 80% of the national average. In order to raise salaries, the government plans to increase the average annual base rate applied to budgetary organizations, to pay a one-time allowance for health recreation in the amount of one official salary, to put together a reserve fund, and also to make a number of incentive payments, fringe benefits, allowances. The mechanism for paying allowances to medical workers working with COVID patients will remain in place,” the MP said. “The budget also envisages a set of measures aimed at supporting families with children, housing construction, infrastructure development, and also a set of measures to support the birth rate in the country,” she said.
The document also provides for a set of measures to support the real sector of the economy. “These are both measures that have been taken following the decisions of the head of state on individual organizations, and systemic measures aimed at the implementation of nationwide tasks, primarily to support exports and provide the domestic market with modern technology and equipment. Funds are envisaged to repay and service the national debt in full. The budget deficit will be Br2.8 billion. In general, the budget has been set with due consideration of the budget law requirements. In other words, all the standard approaches we have had in recent years have been preserved. The social policy is kept in line with the activities and objectives laid down in our policy documents, including the country's social and economic development program through 2025,” stressed Lyudmila Nizhevich.
