PM Ludovic Orban has announced following an analysis of the situation of the Finance Ministry that the budgetary situation is very bad, accusing that PSD had left behind a hole of RON 11 billion in cashes and also arrears of RON 5 billion on the payments to the mayors for the local projects under the National Programme of Local Development (PNDL).
“It is obvious the state of the public finances is very bad. As a matter of fact, it is seen in the released official statistics, the nine-month budgetary execution that points to a deficit of 2.6% this year, as against 1.6% the previous year. It is also clear the plan of cashes has not been met, we have here a minus of RON 11 billion. There is a deficit of RON 1 billion on the receipts from collecting contributions,” Ludovic Orban pointed out.
He also announced he had sacked the Head of the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, Ion Ghizdeanu and Liliana Minca, named deputy secretary general at the Finance Ministry by Viorica Dancila on her last day of mandate as PM. Ion Ghizdeanu was considered the man of Liviu Dragnea and Darius Valcov.
Orban further stressed that the Finance Minister will have to make savings to the full and avoid any useless expense.
‘We’ll see if we can recover something on the tax collections in the last two months of this year’, Orban added.
As for the Government’s Reserve Fund, PM Orban confirmed it is empty, accusing the former PM Dancila that she “has allotted money from this fund like crazy, with no standards and no legal grounds.” “She gave money exclusively to certain entities, certain municipalities, but rather in her capacity of presidential candidate”, Orban said.
The premier said that Dancila Cabinet had left arrears of RON 5 billion on the payments to mayors for the projects funded by the Government through the National Programme of Local Development (PNDL).
“We received signals from local authorities that they lack the necessary funds to make all payments. There are RON 5 billion unpaid funds on PNDL”.
In his turn, Finance minister Florin Cîţu announced the contest for the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) leadership will be delayed by March 2020.