The Verkhovna Rada passed the 2020 budget law in its second reading on Nov. 14. The law received 279 votes, far more than the required 226 to pass.
Most of the votes came from the members of the President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party as well as the parliamentary group For the Future and independent lawmakers. Other political parties, including Voice and Batkivshchyna, either abstained or voted against the law.
The budget foresees that Ukraine’s total spending will reach Hr 1.2 trillion ($50 billion) while earnings will be around Hr 1.1 trillion ($45 billion); roughly Hr 140 billion ($6 billion) will go to repayment of the public debt.
The minimum salary will go up from the current rate of Hr 4,173 to Hr 4,723 (from $171 to $194), a 13% increase compared to 2019.
Ukraine’s gross domestic product is expected to grow by 3% in 2020, Finance Minister Oksana Markarova said while presenting the law in parliament before the vote. Markarova also stressed that the government would allocate over Hr 145 billion ($6 billion) to education (a 12.7% increase) and Hr 113 billion ($5 billion) to healthcare (a 10% increase).
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, in turn, pointed out that the new budget will increase the amount of money Ukraine spends on infrastructure. The budget will pour Hr 74 billion ($3 billion) into Ukrainian roads in 2020, a 37% increase compared to last year.
“Quality roads all over the country,” Honcharuk wrote on Facebook right after the vote took place in the parliament on Nov. 14. “Travelling across Ukraine will become faster, more comfortable, and what is most important – safer.”
Roads, however, aren’t the only infrastructure investment planned for 2020. The budget will also provide money for “the development and servicing Ukrainian airports and bridges,” Honcharuk said.
Earlier in September, Honcharuk promised that will be the last year Ukraine passes a one year budget. The next budget parliament passes will include plans for at least three years , he said.
