The parliament voted for the state budget for 2024, aimed at backing the social, education and infrastructure’s development fields, in the second reading on December 22.
The document provides for the increase in the childbirth allowance, growth of the salaries of teachers by 15% and doubling scholarships of the students from the faculties with pedagogical specialization.
Thus, starting from January 1, 2024, the childbirth allowance will be increased to 20,000 lei and the salaries of Moldova’s teachers will grow by 15%. Also, the decision-makers will increase the financial allocations for the programme “Protection of family and child” and will earmark money for the development of villages and cities, so that the families benefit from better conditions for living at home and the children – from opportunities for development. Additionally, the monthly allocations will be increased for the participants in the Transnistria War and in the Afghanistan War, with 82 million lei allocated to this end.
According to the draft budget, the policies of supporting the small- and medium-sized enterprises stay priority, with over 197 million lei earmarked for financing a string of programmes. Another priority is the continuous development of the transports and infrastructure system. To this end, financial means worth 4,036.5 million lei are planned, of which 1,393.9 million lei from external sources and 2,505.6 million lei for the repair and maintenance of the national and local roads.
Allocations worth 1,600 million lei are envisaged in the 2024 state budget for the subsidization of the agricultural sector, rural development and integration of the national agro-industrial sector into the European economy. Also, 322.1 million lei will be allocated for energy efficiency, 601.5 million lei is meant for the National Fund for Regional and Local Development and 175 million lei will be earmarked for the promotion of the policies in the environmental protection sector.
Also, 11 million lei will be allocated in the state budget for next year for the creation of a fund for backing the distribution of the written press. The financial resources will be used, in order to fully compensate the increase in the tariff for newspapers’ distribution. The procedure of the state support will be carried out based in the criteria of ethics and deontology and their observance will be monitored by media experts.
The draft law provides for a 4.4% increase in the revenues of the national public budget against the amount specified for 2023 and will amount to 107,172 million lei. The expenses will stand at 122,962 million lei and will be by over 1.5% higher against the 2023 year.
At the same time, the state budget revenues are estimated at 66,632 million lei, increasing by 1.3%, and the expenses – at 82,222 million lei, down by 2.2%. The state budget deficit is estimated at being within the limit of 15,790 million lei or 4.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The state debt is forecast to amount to 125,525.6 million lei until the end of the 2024 year, of which 64.5% will be the state foreign debt and 35.5% – the domestic state debt. The share of the debt in the GDP will not exceed 37%. The GDP will grow by 3.5% against this year, reaching the figure of 342.1 billion lei. (Moldpres/Business World Magazine)