BRATISLAVA, April 11, (WEBNOVINY) — The Cabinet of Iveta Radicova (SDKU-DS) spent EUR 500 million over the last three months in power, said Prime Minister Robert Fico at a news conference on Wednesday, adding that this must be a world record. “They were spending money as on a conveyor belt,“ he remarked. Also significant wasting of public finances by the previous government is one of the reasons behind the catastrophic development of Slovakia’s deficit. “I would not wish such a Danaian gift as we got in the form of deficit to any government,“ Fico stating adding that no government has ever taken over public finances in such desolate state as they did.
This is why the Cabinet decided at its meeting on Wednesday to check factual and financial aspects of all contracts concluded by government departments since the early elections were announced in October of last year, informed the prime minister. Individual ministers have until May 31 to reassess all contracts and public competitions after the announcement of the early parliamentary elections and in particular all contracts that were signed after the early elections were held on March 10, 2012, said Fico. The Cabinet has information, he continued, that the public money was wasted at all departments but especially at the Foreign Affairs and Interior Ministries.
The Slovak state budget closed the first quarter of this year with a deficit of EUR 1.155 billion. At the end of February the gap was EUR 846 million. The deficit in late March was EUR 500 million higher from a year ago. Revenues of the state budget dropped 10.3 percent y/y at the end of this March contrasting to a 6.3 percent increase in expenditures.
SITA