Excessive deficit, impoverishment, spending cuts, “basket of care“, “fair prices“, external debt and other difficult-to-swallow words accompany us these days. But what lies behind them and does the context in which they are used matter? The topic is commented on by Lyubomir Karimanski, member of the Governing Council of the BNB.
According to the European Commission, our deficit is 4.1% and because of this there will be a procedure. However, the Bulgarian authorities from the Ministry of Finance say that it is 7.8% - that is, close to an 8% excess deficit.
„It is difficult to say what the correct number is at the moment, since on the part of the European Commission it is understandable from the point of view that it does not have enough information...“, commented Lyubomir Karimanski.
„They are relying on older information. And here, in my opinion, both the previous Minister of Finance in the regular government of Zhelyazkov are to blame, as well as partly the caretaker government, which could have helped with information. But mostly the previous Minister of Finance in the government of Zhelyazkov. Nothing prevented Mrs. Petkova from informing the Commission about the draft budget she had prepared back in October,“ he believes.
“As far as I understood from both the Commission and the report, the Commission was not informed after the adoption of the fiscal-structural plan. It was not informed in October, nor was it informed in the spring. On the other hand, the current regular government shows a budget deficit, which, however, was calculated before the introduction of any measures and policies“, the expert noted.
“The budget is important, but let's first see the government's management program. This is the more important part. Because within the four years, each of the internal policies set out in this program must find its functional expression in the budget and in the medium-term budget forecast,“ he added.
In his words, this will provide an answer to the question of where this government is leading us, what reforms it will implement, how it will implement them, how these reforms are budgeted and whether they are financially secured. On the other hand, it will also be known what environment is being created for investments.
"These are the important things that need to be checked when the budget is proposed – and in particular the budget for 2027 and the medium-term budget forecast," noted Lyubomir Karimanski.
„The public administration really needs to optimize its processes. Where there are duplicate activities, they must be eliminated so that a single process is used. For this, it is necessary to introduce standards in each administration. You have seen how each ministry has a different type of portal, in which, when you enter, it is very difficult to find your way around the services it offers. Why is this not standardized“, asked Karimanski.
“The lack of standardization makes it very difficult for people to find their way around the services they can receive. That is, we must have standards. If they are implemented and the processes are clarified and described in the public sector, then the transformation will happen and we will be able to realistically assess how many people are employed in the public sector, how much population they serve and how they serve it – whether they serve it qualitatively“, he also pointed out
According to him, there is no comprehensive visionary approach to how the administration should be managed in Bulgaria.