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MOSCOW, August 29, 2001. The State Duma (the Russian parliament's
lower chamber) will pass the government draft of the federal budget
for 2002 in the first reading and approve the key budget parameters
and macroeconomic indicators. This opinion was expressed by Sergei
Ivanenko, deputy head of the liberal Yabloko faction in the Duma.
As he said to RIA Novosti, in the present composition of the State
Duma "there is a stable political majority which supports
the government." Ivanenko believes that during the discussion
of this document in the second reading, when the financing of
individual sectors is to be approved, the government will "make
some concessions with due account of the proposals of parliamentarians."
The Yabloko deputies will definitely support the government's
intention to raise the wages of public sector workers and increase
the funding of education, Ivanenko said. He welcomed cuts in spending
on industry, agriculture and targeted investment programmes as,
in his opinion, "the use of these funds cannot always be
controlled, so it would be better to channel them into the payment
of wages to public sector workers and the repayment of the foreign
debt." Ivanenko approves the formation of a financial reserve
fund (as envisaged by the draft budget), with the greater proportion
used to repay the foreign debt.
See also:
Budget
for 2002
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