Belgrade on the Brink of a Financial Rollercoaster!
Today, the City Assembly of Belgrade held a heated session on the proposed budget revision for this year. The ruling coalition supported a debt of a whopping 15 billion dinars, claiming it will enable capital investments to “refresh” the city. The opposition, of course, announced they will not vote for this revision.
15 Billion Dinars – Where is the Money Going?
Nebojsa Bakarec from the Serbian Progressive Party praises the decision as “good” and “favorable” borrowing terms from commercial banks. The money will go towards building water supply systems in Makis and Mladenovac (2 billion dinars), construction of kindergartens (almost a million dinars), purchase of filters for individual heating systems (a million dinars), reconstruction of the Sveti Sava elementary school (almost a million dinars), a linear park (a million dinars), and a wastewater treatment plant in Krnjaca (a million dinars).
Salaries Rising, Unemployment Falling – But Is It Really So?
Bakarec boasts that the average salary in Belgrade is now three times higher than when the opposition was in power, and unemployment has dropped from 21.4% to 7.1%. But are these figures really realistic, or just numbers served to the public to justify the new debt?
Katarina Cubric and Confusing Numbers
City Finance Secretary Katarina Cubric explains that the total budget of the city and city municipalities now amounts to 83 billion dinars, an increase of 9.9% or about 17 billion dinars. Of this, 12 billion are funds to be used during the year, and 5 billion are new loans, mostly for metro construction.
However, the opposition claims this is yet another attempt to sell fog to the citizens and that the borrowing only covers previous financial problems.
Opposition and Protests
The opposition announced they will not support the budget revision and called on citizens to protest. Students have announced blockades on Saturday, and part of the opposition publicly calls for civic actions against such financial management of the city.
What’s Behind the Revision?
Is this really an investment in Belgrade’s future or just another financial bubble that citizens will have to pay for? On one hand, the city boasts rising salaries and falling unemployment, but on the other, it is taking on huge sums of debt that will have to be repaid for years.
Conclusion
Belgrade is at a crossroads – will this loan be used for real investments that will improve citizens’ lives, or will the money be wasted on projects that will remain only on paper? While the government claims everything is under control, the opposition and citizens are increasingly raising questions.
What do you think? Do you believe these numbers or think this is just another show for the public? Drop a comment, share your thoughts, and let’s uncover what’s really going on in Belgrade!
Slug: belgrade-debt-15-billion-dinars-capital-investments-financial-bubble
