President vetoes law on 2019 State Budget
PoliticsUlaanbaatar/MONTSAME/
On November 15, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga put a veto on the
Law on State Budget for 2019 and the accompanying legislation and parliamentary
resolutions. President Battulga handed over an official letter to Chairman of
the State Great Khural M.Enkhbold, requesting action in accordance with the
corresponding laws and regulations.
The veto reads, “I
have reviewed the Law on State Budget for 2019 which was adopted by the
Parliament on November 2nd and forwarded to the Office of the President on
November 12th.
…I have no choice, but
to veto the 2019 budget and remind the Parliament of the necessity to look back
on its budget policy, adopt a tight and efficient budget that upholds the
national interest and discipline, and fix the following issues that violate the
law and contradict the national development policy and vision.”
The letter highlights
several issues in the 2019 State Budget Law, including high budget deficit
which is MNT 1.9 trillion or 5.4 percent of GDP, “MP’s money” amounting to MNT
8 billion and budget allocation for the construction of facilities without
blueprint, and estimation of the mining revenue at MNT 3 trillion which was
concluded as unattainable by the National Audit Office. Furthermore, the
President points out that the 2019 State Budget Law creates conditions for
abrupt increase of public debt and that the projection of MNT 11.5 trillion
budget expenditure is not compatible with the objective to maintain inflation
within eight percent next year. In addition, President Battulga stresses that
the lawmakers must create conditions for small businesses that are truly
considered SMEs to be able to obtain loans with 3 percent annual interest from
the SME Development Fund starting from January 1st, 2019.
President Battulga requests the State Great Khural to discuss
and resolve the veto in accordance with the corresponding laws and regulations.
source: president.mn