The Knesset Finance Committee today approved the transfer of a NIS 874 billion budget surplus from 2023 to 2024. The discussions were marked by a bitter dispute between coalition and opposition MKs, over the transfer of NIS 500 million in coalition funds in the midst of the war and its high costs. The Knesset Finance Committee had originally planned to transfer NIS 1 billion.
Opposition MKs, who delayed the vote on the matter for three hours, harshly criticized the budgetary transfers. MK Gilad Kariv (Labor) asked the Finance Committee's legal advisor to halt the discussion, claiming that, "Hundreds of millions of shekels are being transferred here without any details. You are trying to transfer NIS 1 billion to your sectors under the table."
MK Orit Farkash-Hacohen (Blue & White) attacked the conduct of the Ministry of Finance. She said, "Any normal Minister of Finance would have said hold your horses and instructed the budget division officials to go over every clause. How can you convene the committee in such a hurry to transfer these funds quickly, without seeing if there is money here that can be saved for the public."
On the other hand, Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) defended the procedure and said, "According to the regulations, it is not even necessary to transfer budget surpluses such as these surpluses to the Finance Committee. I have established a practice that every surplus comes here for discussion."
Among the most notable transfers are NIS 302 million to the Minister of Settlements and National Missions Orit Strook ministry, about NIS 280 million to the Prime Minister's Bureau in the Prime Minister's Office mainly for protection and security, NIS 58 million to the unofficial education networks of the Haredim, and NIS 19 million to Shas's Ma'ayan education network.
The discussions are taking place during the ongoing war and the complex economic situation, with the Ministry of Finance planning an across-the-board 5% cut in all ministries' budgets to reduce the deficit. The opposition claims that the budget surpluses should be diverted to benefit the needs of the war and the citizens facing its consequences, instead of transferring them to sectoral projects.
The budget surplus included NIS 559 million from the Ministry of Agriculture, NIS 310 million from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Culture and Sport, and NIS 5 million from the President's Office.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 24, 2024.
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