Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said Tuesday the new budget would reflect the government’s determination to reduce the fiscal deficit and proceed with reforms.
Speaking at a news conference, the minister said the 2019 draft budget would be completed soon and presented to the Cabinet and Parliament for final approval.
“The new budget will reflect the government’s sincere intention to reduce the fiscal deficit as part of the reform plan that includes radical structural decisions,” Khalil said.
But the minister did not disclose further details about the new budget or the reform items in it.
Khalil has repeatedly assured that the new 2019 draft budget will not include any new tax.
He added that the fighting graft should be taken seriously and not through the media or “meaningless” exhibitions and parades.
Khalil explained that he prefers to work quietly and without any necessary noise, criticizing some parties and groups that talk a lot about fighting corruption but without any vision or plan.
“Apart from what is being said today about the battle against corruption, the breadth of political discourse and the public discourse on this matter, we have worked hard and silently on a number of measures to effectively combat corruption through legal and administrative procedures,” he said.
He stressed that all actions taken on the modernization of real estate departments and on the use of mechanization in a modern way to ease the lives of citizens.
Khalil stressed that the state with all its components and parties and its constitutional and executive institutions and parliamentary blocs are keen to implement reforms in speedy manner.
Khalil said that the ministry is also working on a plan to computerize all the departments so that the citizen can process all his paper works without the need to contact directly the government employees.
Businessmen and citizens constantly complain about the long delays in processing papers and documents at the Finance Ministry and other government departments.
The government has promised to implement the e-government this year to reduce the work load on civil servants and reduce or eliminate bribery and corruption.
The Daily Star
13/03/2019
