Press Release, 27.11.2019

Today, Emilia Slabunova, Yabloko Chair and an MP of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia, presented to the profile committee of the Karelian parliament amendments to the draft budget of the republic for 2020.

Yabloko’s amendments propose to allocate 140 million roubles for the purchase of a kindergarten in the Petrozavodsk district Drevlyanka-8, 30 million roubles for the capital repairs of healthcare facilities, 10 million roubles to make state institutions of the republic convenient for people with disabilities, 125 million roubles as a subsidy to Petrozavodsk for the purchase of trolley buses, 2 million roubles for the acquisition of book funds and connecting libraries to the Internet, 2 million roubles for the purchase of sports equipment and the inventory for sports organisations and preparation of a sports reserve for the national teams of Russia respectively, 14 million roubles as a subsidy to the administration of the Petrozavodsk city district for the purchase of housing for those who are in the queue for housing in the priority order.

After a number of amendments were rejected by committee members, their author Emilia Slabunova urged MPs not to “monopolise the right to manage the budget.”

“You must understand that there are voters behind every deputy. And when you walk or drive along the streets, you must remember that every tenth voter voted for Yabloko, according to official figures, but in reality much more. Therefore, you do not have a monopoly on budget management. I am addressing the government: when considering the budget, you must take into account the interests and needs of all voters who voted for all political parties. This is a people’s budget, it was earned, among other things, by the work of those taxpayers who voted for the parties other than the ruling United Russia. Please remember this every time you make your reasons,” Slabunova said.

However, members of the committee rejected all Yabloko’s amendments. Tomorrow, the deputies of the Karelian parliament will make the final decision on the fate of the amendments at the second reading of the budget.