In search of new ways to save funds and sources of financing for various needs, deputies are preparing for the second round of submitting proposals for the state budget draft, public media report.
This year the procedure may be different: although the budget has already been reviewed by the government, changes are still possible. Ministries can save more, decided the budget and finance commission of the Saeima.
Last week, all ministries reported on their expenditures. Immediate savings can be achieved by reviewing the procurement of goods and services, believes the commission chair Anda Čakša.
"Of course, there are very different situations because there are ministries that in previous years seriously tried to make something more efficient, but perhaps did not achieve much. Accordingly, our call is to reconsider this issue. This can provide, let's say, the quickest result, but probably not the best overall," said Čakša.
She did not name specific ministries where these improvements should be made. Even greater savings can be achieved by centralizing certain functions.
"We see that there are both accounting and other services that some ministries are centralizing, while others are not yet. There are also duplicating functions. We had three ministries that reported implementing cybersecurity measures that partially duplicate each other. Therefore, I very much hope that there will be political will, and we, the opposition and the coalition, can agree on introducing strict austerity measures from next year," said Arturs Butāns (National Alliance).
"Unlike how these budget negotiations have gone in recent years, when the budget submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers was largely - 99% - actually adopted by the Saeima, I see that this year it will likely be different. And the positions that the Saeima will adjust may be much broader than before," said Andris Šuvajevs (Progressives).
