Moscow, March 21 – The government debt of the regions of Russia at the beginning of 2022 amounted to 2.5 trillion rubles, the figures increased by 5.2% compared to 2017, according to the materials of the Accounts Chamber based on the results of checking the use of the provided federal budget loans. For constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2017-2021, on the example of seven regions.
“At the beginning of 2022, the volume of public debt of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation increased by 5.2% compared to 2017 and amounted to 2.5 trillion rubles. – by 6.2 times, in the Moscow region – by 2.7 times and in the Sverdlovsk region – by 37.8%. In the Novgorod region, my republic Tatarstan and Sakha (Yakutia), the increase in debt amounted to At the same time, the public debt in the Irkutsk region decreased by 24%, ”said Alexey Svatyugin, auditor of the Accounts Chamber, whose words are quoted in the materials.
According to the agency, in total, in 2017-2021, the examined regions received loans from the federal budget in the amount of more than 896 billion rubles. The regions were also provided with treasury loans (to replenish the balance of funds on the budget account) in the amount of 2.2 trillion rubles, according to the Accounts Chamber.
During the review, the auditors noted that the regions mainly used the loans provided to pay off debt obligations (over 50%) and to pay current expenses (over 47%). At the same time, the share of budget loans allocated for investment purposes was very insignificant. The exception, according to auditors, was St. Petersburg, where more than 63% of loans from the federal budget were used for investment purposes.
However, during the review, shortcomings were also found. For example, the auditors noted that regions did not adhere to the borrowing limits set by the budget law. In addition, the Accounts Chamber indicated that some regions did not abide by the terms of the agreements for providing budget loans in terms of achieving the target values specified for the indicators.
“Non-compliance with the terms of the agreements led to early repayment of budget loans by the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) totaling 3.3 billion rubles, by the Novgorod region – 0.5 billion rubles, by the Sverdlovsk region – 0.9 billion rubles,” Savatyugin said.
The Accounts Chamber also noted among the shortcomings and irregularities the practice of attracting market borrowings in the presence of large balances on the accounts of regional budgets – as a result, these loans led to unreasonable costs for their maintenance. A similar situation was observed by auditors with regard to treasury loans.
“The regulatory legal acts regulating the procedure for their provision do not imply restrictions on obtaining a loan depending on the balance of funds and upcoming expenditures of the regional budget, nor do they limit the attraction of market borrowing with an unused limit on treasury loans. As a result, the regions conduct economically unjustified operations, ”he says. – says the oath.
The Accounts Chamber noted in the report that the provision of budget loans to the regions ensured a decrease in the cost of servicing the public debt of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, but did not lead to a decrease in its size and decrease. In the debt burden on the regional budget.
Also, based on the results of the audit, the agency has prepared a number of proposals aimed at improving legislation in the field of government borrowing, including recommending that the government establish restrictions on the implementation of market borrowing by a constituent entity of the Russian Federation in the presence of large balances of funds on an account One for the regional budget and an unused limit for attracting treasury loans. The auditors also recommended sending a letter to the government with a proposal to instruct the Russian Ministry of Finance to prepare relevant proposals by October 1, 2023.
