Fund managers failed to submit 13.5% of budget programs on time – Getmantsev

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Regulations, Danylo Getmantsev, reported this in an interview with Ukrinform.

Given the current situation with public finances and sufficient international reserves, Getmantsev recommends postponing part of the international financial assistance allocated for this year to later periods.

He expressed support for Ukraine's decision to ask the IMF to reduce the next tranche of the loan, expected at the end of March, from $0.92 billion to $0.4 billion.

Read also: Getmantsev on money for the budget: Internal borrowing opportunities have not yet been exhausted

“We are not refusing these funds, we are only discussing the possibility of postponing payments of the next tranches until March 2027, while the EFF program continues. We can agree with the government's position. If the budget needs for 2025 are largely provided by confirmed international assistance, then in 2026 and 2027 there is great uncertainty. Restructuring part of the loan also reduces debt servicing costs,” Getmantsev noted.

The deputy also proposes to “stretch” the guaranteed preferential financing of $50 billion, using frozen Russian assets, not for one year, but for three years.

Receiving these funds in 2025 will result in unnecessary spending on non-priority programs that are either ineffective or poorly managed by their leaders, he said.

“Of the 453 budget programs, 13.5% were not submitted by the relevant managers to the Ministry of Finance for approval within the deadline set by the Budget Code by February 15. Of the programs submitted, 27% were not approved because they did not meet the required standards. This issue highlights the urgent need to increase accountability and responsibility in the performance of duties,” the Chairman of the Finance Committee said.

He believes that postponing the lending period to potentially “financially unstable” years, when funds will be critically important, is a strategic priority for the Ukrainian authorities.

As reported, in late February, Ukraine and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on the seventh review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. In a few weeks, the IMF Board of Directors will decide on the next tranche of the loan for Kyiv, which will be smaller than previously planned. Ukraine requested a reduction in the loan amount from $0.92 billion to $0.4 billion.