2018 budget, how much money will state institutions spend?

Next year, Albanian citizens will have to pay around 300 billion lek out of their pockets to sustain the country’s institutions. This money will be collected in the form of taxes and they will be spend for institutions such as Presidency, Parliament, Council of Ministers and tens of ministries or institutions depending on them. This figure is confirmed by the 2018 draft budget, which has been approved in principle by MPs. According to this budget, the ministry of Finance and the Economy will be the ones which will spend the biggest amount this year, namely, 68 billion lek. “Social contributions” and “pensions” will be the main two items of the spending made by this ministry with 44 billion lek. This ministry is followed by the ministry of Health and Social Protection, for which the government will spend 60 billion lek. Out of these funds, the majority of them will be spent for secondary services and social care, namely, 22 and 21 billion lek. The ministry of Infrastructure and Energy is another institution which will spend a large amount from the budget, namely, 48 billion lek. Like the two ministries mentioned above, these two ministries have merged, therefore, its expenses are higher than last year’s. The majority of funds will be spent for roads, namely, 24.6 billion lek. 1.2 billion lek will be spent on railroads, while almost no funds at all have been allocated for air transport. Meanwhile, 38 billion lek have been allocated for the ministry of Education. 19.7 billion lek will be allocated for the ministry of Defence and 19.7 billion lek will be spent for the ministry of Internal Affairs.

Parliament will be spent for the Presidency and the Council of Ministers

Parliament ranks first in the list of state institutions in terms of the level of expenses that will be made next year. The amount that this institution will spend next year is 1.1 billion lek. Parliament is followed by the Council of Ministers with 960 million lek while expenses for Presidency will be 217 million lek. From these, around 6 million lek will be spent for renovations in the President’s office. Meanwhile, Parliament will spend 11.5 million lek for new equipment. The Council of Ministers will spend 110 million lek for renovations next year. These are only some of the expenses which will be made in the form of investments by the main institutions in the country. Meanwhile, 290 million lek will be secured in the form of foreign financing, while the rest will be allocated from the state budget.

Government services, 1 billion lek from public funds

Government services have a particular cost and next year’s budget has allocated 4 billion lek for these services. “E-government” will take up more than half of these funds. “Other expenses” will spend 680 million lek. A significant part of the funds will also be spent on services that relate to public administration, namely, around 257 lek. On the other hand, the government has allocated a special fund for “services for the Diaspora, which amounts to 17 million lek. Then there’s public procurement with 73 million lek. These funds also relate to the concessions that the government will apply next year as part of the “1 Billion Euro” program.

The state will allocate 200 billion lek for political parties, twice as much for justice

Funds will also be allocated for political parties, but also for justice institutions. This is what next year’s state budget will include. So, for next year, the state will support political parties by allocating for them an amount of 200 million lek. On the other hand, 463 million lek will be spent by the state budget for the institutions of justice, also as part of the reform which is being made in this domain. Out of this fund, 93 million lek will be spent for the Supreme Council of Justice. Let us not forget that the government has also allocated funds for the Research of the Crimes of Communism Institute, namely, 33.7 million lek.

Academy of Science is not left without a budget

In spite of the political debate taken place in the recent weeks about the Academy of Science, the government has not left it without funds. The Academy of Science has been allocated 100 million lek for next year. This institution will undergo a reform launched by Prime Minister Edi Rama. On the other hand, budget expenses for next year also reveal a special fund that the government has allocated for Support to Civil Society with 123 million lek. Meanwhile, the budget also includes 1.544 billion lek for State Intelligent Services and 16.8 billion lek for the Albanian Development Fund, which is in charge of the roads that will be built.