Vera Daves, who was speaking in Luanda at a meeting with journalists, warned that the Ministry of Finance will not give in to pressure from different sectors, also making public managers responsible for their decisions.
The minister gave as an example the cuts that have focused on a set of benefits of judicial bodies, referring to requests for residence for all magistrates, as well as the acquisition of vehicles and travel: "We have not been giving in, we have no money for give and we don't give", he highlighted.
The head of the Finance portfolio also said that the ministry is not responsible for all decisions with regard to expenditure, only imposing ceilings.
"It is also a matter of individual responsibility of each public manager. If it is difficult to maintain the elevator and goes to a conference and takes a large delegation, these are daily decisions that each manager has to make", he commented, adding that the ministry is attentive and "advising" the managers.
"It is increasingly important to think about the profile of the public manager", she highlighted, noting that they are increasingly held accountable for their decisions, alluding to the various cases that are being investigated by the Attorney General's Office (PGR).
The government official recalled that "there are no free lunches", so that greater generosity in fiscal policy will be reflected in a sacrifice of expenditure.
"But it is not the Ministry of Finance that decides who will spend what, the ministry sets the ceiling and each ministerial department can use that ceiling. Our mandate is to ensure that there is a spending limit that is respected and contracted in the best possible way. ", he underlined, adding: "We advise, but the advice is not always accepted".
Vera Daves also said that the 2022 State Budget is based on a conservative oil reference price, which allows for mitigating price volatility risks, while also maintaining a conservative posture with regard to debt.
The minister also addressed the issue of readjusting salaries in the civil service, which she considered "challenging" given the need to restore the purchasing power of families.
"But we have to have the money to do this sustainably, we don't want to start and then have to reduce. We have been reflecting on how far we can go, we are calibrating these scenarios. We want to meet the expectations and expectations of professionals, but we have to have caution, we have to advance as far as our capabilities are concerned," he stressed.
The 2022 State Budget proposal was approved in general on 9 November and will now be discussed in detail.
