The Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of Karelia did not support the budget of Karelia for 2025 in the first reading. Deputy Emilia Slabunova innumerates the reasons
Press Release, 14.11.2024
Photo: Emilia Slabunova / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On 14 November, the Legislative Assembly of Karelia considered the draft budget of the Republic of Karelia for 2025 in the first reading. The Yabloko faction voted against adopting the document. The head of the faction Emilia Slabunova notes that only the concept of the budget was considered in the first reading. Slabunova innumerates the main reasons why Yabloko cannot agree with such a budget.
- The disastrous financial state of local government: the budgets of municipal districts, areas and rural settlements are left in a deplorable state. “As a result, 2025 has already begun for us right now – in 2024 – in the form of “optimization” [reduction of expenses] of schools and other social facilities, with decisions coming into force on 1 January, 2025,” Slabunova comments.
- A crisis in the construction/modernisation of water treatment and sewage treatment facilities. “No progress in solving the problem of providing residents of Karelia with clean water is visible in the draft budget!” Emilia Slabunova notes.
- Spending on environmental protection is insufficient in the Republic of Karelia, the life of which is largely tied to the active use of natural resources. “Only 3 million roubles is envisaged to overcome the negative impact on nature, including monitoring the condition of water bodies used for trout farming,” she says.
- Expenses on the protection of cultural heritage sites are minimal. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that, following an inspection ordered by the President to assess the efficiency of federal property use in the regions, it is planned to transfer 26 objects from federal to municipal ownership, most of which are valuable cultural heritage sites in a deplorable state. At the same time, when the relevant committee considered the issue of the results of the implementation of the regional project on patriotic education, the head of the department could not answer the question how 46 million roubles allocated in the budget for patriotic education were spent.
“The vote in the second reading will depend on whether there are “tickets to the corridors of executive power” and whether the faction’s amendments are taken into account,” Yabloko deputy Emilia Slabunova states.
The draft budget was adopted in the first reading by 22 votes in favour and five against out of 27 deputies present.
Posted: November 15th, 2024 under Education and Science, Environmental Policies, Governance, Human Rights, Protection of Environment, Social Policies, The Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of Karelia, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.