Today, the Knesset Finance Committee approved the transfer of a budget surplus of NIS 874 billion from 2023 to 2024. The discussions were marked by a bitter dispute between Knesset members from the coalition and the opposition, over the transfer of NIS 500 million of 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 issue for three hours, strongly criticized the budget transfers. Knesset member Gilad Kariv (Labor) asked the Finance Committee’s legal advisor to stop the discussion, claiming that “hundreds of millions of shekels are being kept here without any details. You are trying to transfer a billion shekels to your sectors under the table.”
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Knesset member Orit Farkash-Hacohen (Blue and White) attacked the behavior of the Ministry of Finance. She said: “Any normal finance minister would have said hold your horses and instructed the budget department officials to review every item, so how can you convene the committee so quickly to transfer these funds so quickly, without knowing whether there is money here?” that can be saved for the public.”
On the other hand, Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gaffney (United Torah Judaism) defended this measure and said: “According to the regulations, it is not even necessary to transfer budget surpluses such as these 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 Ministry of Settlements and National Missions Orit Struk, about NIS 280 million to the Prime Minister’s Office mainly for protection and security, and NIS 58 million to non-formal education networks in Israel. the HaredimAnd 19 million shekels for the Ma’yan educational network affiliated with Shas.
Discussions are taking place in light of the ongoing war and the complex economic situation, as the Ministry of Finance plans a comprehensive reduction of 5% in the budgets of all ministries to reduce the deficit. The opposition demands that budget surpluses be transferred to benefit the needs of the war and the citizens who face 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 Sports, and NIS 5 million from the Office of the President.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on June 24, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
