Ukraine's Treasury explains benefits of medium-term budget planning

Head of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine Tetiana Sliuz says the introduction of medium-term budget planning in Ukraine will allow using funds in the Treasury's single account more efficiently, which will lead to the development of the national economy.

"For some reason, we had the erroneous assumption that the more funds in a single treasury account, the better. When we look at the history of other countries using funds in single treasury accounts, we see zeros, as they are being used in securities transactions, lending, and so on. That is, funds develop the economy, rather than lie idle. Due to medium-term planning and drafting a three-year budget declaration, this will have a positive result and there will be no such [unused] funds," she told journalists on March 4, following the presentation of the agency's 2019 report.

Sliuz also noted that the balance of funds in the single account of the State Treasury Service was estimated at UAH 17.18 billion (US$689 million) as of March 1, 2020, at UAH 12 billion (US$481 million) as of February 1, and at UAH 17.55 billion (US$704 million) as of January 1.

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As UNIAN reported earlier, in January 2019, the then Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, signed a bill into law to amend the Budget Code of Ukraine regarding the introduction of medium-term budget planning. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed the bill in December 2018.

In January 2020, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oksana Markarova said the ministry had started drafting a three-year budget declaration for 2021-2023. The document is expected to be submitted for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers before May 15.