Infrastructure takes budget’s lion share

TIRANA, Dec. 5 – Infrastructure, education, health, defence and agriculture will be the priority sectors even in next year’s public investments. For 2013, which is an electoral year, capital expenditure is expected at 71 billion lek or 5 percent of the GDP compared to 63.6 billion lek or 4.7 percent for 2012. Some 1.7 percent of investments will be carried out with internal financing while the remaining 3.2 under external financing. Infrastructure will continue taking the lion’ share with 3.9 percent of the GDP in investments, followed by education with 3.24 percent of the GDP, health with 2.54 percent and agriculture at 0.45 percent. The Public Works and Transport Ministry has been awarded 41.6 billion lek or around 60 percent of the total public investments. Some 44 km of new roads in the national network are expected to be built in 2013 and another 14 km rehabilitated. The Education Ministry has been awarded 39 billion lek to improve school infrastructure and support vocational training education. Investments in the health sector, perceived as one of the country’s most corrupt, continue remaining below the 3 percent of the GDP level. For 2013, government plans to invest 29 billion lek or 2.1 percent of the GDP in the health sector mainly in new reimbursed medicines, and reducing infant and maternal mortality rates. The agriculture ministry continues receiving the smallest amount of funds among the other priority sectors although employing around 50 percent of the country’s population. For 2013, government has awarded only 6.5 billion lek or 0.45 percent of the GDP to support investments in the agriculture sector which accounts for around 20 percent of the country’s GDP.
Social protection and general public services cost the Albanian government half the annual budget back in 2011, leaving other priority sectors such as health, education and agriculture with a minority share. Finance Ministry data show government spent 107 billion lek on social protection and 78 billion lek on general public services last year, which is 49.3 percent of the total 376 billion lek annual budget.
While social protection covers risks and needs associated with sickness/healthcare, disability, old age, unemployment, housing and social exclusion, ‘general public services’ include expenses related to executive and legislative organs, financial and fiscal affairs, external affairs, foreign economic aid, basic research and expenses related to debt.
‘Economic affairs’ which covers support programmes, subsidies and public infrastructure spending in key sectors cost government 51.3 billion lek or 13.6 percent of its total budget.
Education and health rank the fourth and fifth most costly sectors to the Albanian government with 42 billion lek and 35 billion lek respectively in 2011.
‘Housing and community amenities’ and ‘public order and safety’ cost government 23 billion lek and 21 billion lek respectively in 2011, according to Finance Ministry data.
As a share to GDP social protection accounted for 8.1 percent in 2011, down 0.1 percent compared to 2010. Economic affairs spending also dropped to 3.4 percent, down from 4.3 percent in 2010. Spending on education and health accounted for 2.9 and 2.7 percent respectively in 2011, down from 3.4 percent and 2.6 percent in 2010.