The first reactions after the presentation of the Proposed Budget for 2025 mostly referred to the projected high economic growth of 3,7 percent of the gross domestic product. This growth is significantly higher than the World Bank projections of 2,5 percent and slightly higher than the IMF forecast of 3,6 percent. The entire planned budget is based on economic growth forecasts, so missed projections would confuse all accounts. But the Minister of Finance Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska said at the meeting with the journalists that she wants to clear up this dilemma and emphasized that this kind of economic growth can be achieved because it is based on real capital projects for the first time.

- In the Budget, around 830 million euros are foreseen for capital investments. There are infrastructure projects that, according to the analyzes of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, are realistically feasible. There are also various other projects in the field of transport, agriculture, waste management, then reconstruction of student dormitories, extension of schools. We will implement all those projects and hence the calculations for economic growth of 3,7 percent - the minister claims.

She explains that so far there has been no actual presentation of real capital projects and very often a large part has been transfers to public enterprises. By the way, she listed numerous projects for which we had money, but we did not have any implementation. Among them, he mentioned that since 2020 there was money for a regional waste dump, and the implementation so far is 1 percent, then that already in 2021 money was approved by the European Investment Bank for the Skopje-Blace highway, and by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development about Bukojčani – Kicevo and asked why they have not been built yet.

- There was no interest in realizing capital investments. For example, it was easier to transfer subsidies to farmers instead of allowing them to have water in the canals. And then, we have no agricultural production. Well, we won't have any! - commented Dimitrieska-Kochoska.

The budget for 2025 should be presented to the parliamentarians. They will have income items for 5,8 billion euros and expenditure items for 6,6 billion on the table. The budget for year c is larger than the rebalanced one by 10 percent on the expenditure side and by 13 percent on the income side.

The minister said that there will be more money for salaries, pensions and social security.

– Salaries are in several items. In addition to the one that is separately set aside and which amounts to about 50 billion denars, the salaries are also included in the amount for block grants that refer to salaries in education, which are 22 billion denars, and the State Functions account has 2 billion denars, and how much will be spent from them depends on what minimum wage will be agreed upon at the Economic and Social Council, which is scheduled to meet on Monday. We have no insight into salaries in the Ministry of Health and the Pension Fund - said the minister.

This means that without the two funds, the salaries for which money is allocated from the Budget weigh about 1,2 billion euros.

The minister emphasized once again that the pensioners will receive another 2.500 denars each from March next year, but as she explained, they should not wait for the September adjustment, because according to the current methodology, this is impossible.

– The pension is adjusted from January 1 and July 1 of each year according to the percentage of the increase in the index of the cost of living in the previous half year in relation to the half year preceding it, published by the State Statistics Office. In the event that the increase in the cost of living has a negative sign, no adjustment of the pension is made. Realistically, now we will have negative items both in terms of inflation, and in terms of salary increase, although there will be, it will be lower compared to the previous half-year - explained Dimitrieska-Kochoska.

2025 billion denars (14,5 million euros) or 235,8 million denars (about 500 million euros) more than the rebalanced budget for this year are provided for in the budget for 8.

– The requests were for a much larger amount. But we are often warned, and even now when we were at the World Bank, that we have poor implementation. There was a project for a single register that would show all recipients of social benefits, but it was never realized. The single register should show on what grounds a person receives benefits, and now we have no insight into that. Therefore, the item for social benefits is constantly growing. In 2018, it was 9,4 billion, they demanded 18 billion for 2025, and we approved 14,5 billion - says the minister.