Ministries face billions in cuts in push to pass budget
Government wants to slice NIS 4.5 billion from some ministries while offering sweetners to others to ensure budget approval
Israeli lawmakers will be asked to approve cuts to government ministries totaling some NIS 4.5 billion ($1.2 billion), the Ynet website reported Friday, citing protocols from a government debate on the issue.
According to the report, the cuts will be staggered – NIS 500 million will be sliced off budgets in 2015 and a further NIS 1 billion in 2016. This 1.5 billion, Ynet said, is in addition to a NIS 3-billion cutback already provided for in the new state budget.
To implement the cuts, each ministry will have the same proportion reduced from its budget, unless such cuts contradict coalition agreements signed with various parties, the report said. The defense and education ministries will see the largest cuts, each losing about NIS 1 billion in 2015-16. Another NIS 750 million will be sliced from the budget for transportation development, Ynet said.
According to the report, the cuts were agreed upon during talks between the treasury and various ministers who had threatened to vote against the state budget. The government secured the support of those ministers by actually adding to their respective budgets, among them members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s own Likud party.
From the Likud, Welfare Minister Haim Katz was promised NIS 200 million, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan will receive an addition of several hundred million shekels and Culture Minister Miri Regev is to get NIS 260 million, Ynet said. Meanwhile, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who heads the Jewish Home party, will see the cuts to his ministry budget reduced by several hundred million shekels.
The cabinet approved the proposed budget for 2015-2016 earlier this month, with 20 ministers voting in favor. The overall budget for 2015 will stand at NIS 329.5 billion and increase by NIS 13.8 billion for 2016.
Netanyahu praised the newly approved budget, calling it “balanced, responsible and aimed at fostering growth.” He also hailed “coalition cohesion” and “government cohesion” in getting the plan passed.