Parliamentarians misconceive that people live in luxury!

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, current years have seen an extra improve in unemployment and destitution, and a normal worsening within the primary situations of life, together with an absolute impoverishment of the mass of the inhabitants. Sadly, parliamentarians known as on folks to reside frugally, not understanding what actual life is like and the way individuals are really coping.

Significantly, in the course of the parliamentary plenary session on March 31, Speaker of Parliament G.Zandanshatar mentioned, “Authorities will not be an almighty god. The state price range is restricted. The amount of cash and overseas change earnings is restricted. Due to this fact, our folks want to maneuver to austerity mode and perceive the shadow of world occasions in Mongolia. Political forces additionally have to be practical with out politicizing the nation’s concern.”

His premature and unrealistic name has drawn criticism and resentment. It’s because in actuality, hundreds of delivery containers are caught on the Mongolian-China border and Mongolians are affected by meals shortages, excessive inflation, lack of earnings, unemployment, enterprise closures, a crippled export sector, and a decimated tourism trade. Specifically, as many as 260,000 Mongolians had slipped into poverty in 2020, rising the poverty price to 33.6 %, whereas 35.2 % of households reported a decline in earnings.

To make issues worse, inflation skyrocketed to 9.6 %, with the costs of meals, strong fuels and gasoline rising essentially the most. Ten months into the pandemic, meat costs in Ulaanbaatar had risen by 16 % and gasoline costs by 38.8 %.

In different phrases, at a time when individuals are barely incomes cash for meals, and their lives are deteriorating, politicians are “insulting” their residents by instructing them to chop down luxurious bills and reside frugally. It’s unlucky that the nation is being dominated by individuals who don’t even know the present dwelling state of affairs of most of the people.

Throughout the Magic Bag undertaking final December, for example, I had an opportunity to see in individual that life in ger areas, particularly on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, has turn into extra heartbreaking than ever earlier than. A younger household we visited complained that they misplaced their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been capable of afford meals and firewood solely with their kids’s cash and allowance for moms, that are each offered by the state. Some suburban kids couldn’t be a part of on-line courses as a result of their households didn’t have smartphones. Many of the properties have been freezing, didn’t have briquettes or wooden to make a hearth, and typically starved. Furthermore, folks’s debt to the grocery retailer is rising and a few individuals are even shopping for vegetable oil in milliliters. This confirms that the center class is getting poorer. Due to this fact, Speaker G.Zandanshatar should clearly clarify what residents ought to in the reduction of on when life is so tough.

Throughout the session, lawmaker Kh.Bolorchuluun additionally commented that Mongolians eat the most affordable meals and {that a} loaf of bread prices simply over 1,000 MNT. In keeping with him, Mongolians purchase bread and meat on the lowest costs on the earth and revel in essentially the most luxurious life on the earth. Nevertheless, it’s been lengthy since the value of a loaf of bread surpassed 2,000 MNT, which is twice larger than politicians assume it to be.

As well as, on the irregular Congress of the Social Democratic Mongolian Youth Union, legislator N.Uchral mentioned, “There are plenty of households dwelling on VAT refunds. Individuals look ahead to VAT refunds. Due to this fact, there’s a want to extend VAT refunds. We’re planning to provoke a invoice to improve the VAT refund price to as much as 4 % on client items equivalent to milk, bread, flour, rice, meat and gasoline. That is seen as the proper answer within the present context the place inflation is having a destructive influence on livelihoods. Nevertheless, refunds for non-essential merchandise equivalent to alcohol and tobacco needs to be zeroed.”

His comment drew plenty of criticism. Two % of all purchases registered with the tax system are refunded on a quarterly foundation on high of a month-to-month VAT lottery. In reality, a whole lot of hundreds of folks obtain a really small amount of cash within the type of VAT refunds. Some folks aren’t utilizing the VAT receipt software or Ebarimt as a result of they don’t have any entry to the web and even smartphones. There are numerous individuals who don’t go to shops that present VAT receipts and purchase meals from the market the place it’s cheaper. All this reveals that politicians do not likely know the lives of residents, so they don’t seem to be capable of make selections that profit the folks.

Economists say that Mongolia is dealing with difficulties because of the incorrect insurance policies made by the earlier and present governments. It’s because the federal government “forcibly” managed the costs of gasoline, electrical energy, and water as a way to win the parliamentary, native, and presidential elections in 2020 and 2021. This has pushed up inflation, elevated the costs of products and companies, and devalued the tugrug. Nevertheless, politicians dare to “insult” the general public by blaming them for his or her incorrect insurance policies and actions and calling on them to train monetary austerity after they barely make ends meet.

Residents, however, need the federal government, Parliament, the Workplace of the President, and the Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Workplace to average their bills. Nevertheless, as an alternative of slicing bills, Parliament Speaker G.Zandanshatar issued Decision No. 42 of 2020, which raised the salaries of some authorities officers. In particular, in line with the decision, the President’s Workplace, the Parliament’s Workplace, and the Cupboard Secretariat elevated their salaries by 50 to 270 % in the type of coefficients. Coefficient implies that the bottom wage is multiplied by the variety of coefficients. For instance, if the essential wage of the speaker of the Parliament was 2 million MNT, it has been multiplied by 3.03.

Minister of Finance B.Javkhlan has promised that the federal government would defend the economic system by shifting to austerity and slicing prices. Throughout the parliamentary session final Friday, he emphasised, “The world was optimistic in regards to the financial development in 2022. Mongolia was the identical. Nevertheless, we confronted one other huge problem this yr. Due to this fact, we are going to make some adjustments in our financial and financial insurance policies. The federal government will transfer to frugality. It’s too early to say whether or not the price range might be amended.”

Final February, Parliament amended the 2022 State Price range to extend pensions and advantages for goal teams, such because the aged, folks with disabilities, single dad and mom and others in want, and unanimously supported freezing the development of all monuments and initiatives just like the Bogd Zonkhov undertaking. Minister B.Javkhlan’s assertion on slicing pointless expenditures is more likely to result in price range amendments. Nevertheless, it’s uncertain whether or not the price range might be used for the proper issues and whether or not applicable measures will be taken to enhance the dwelling requirements of the folks.

Conversely, as an alternative of speaking about proscribing the consumption of residents, parliamentarians and the federal government must retrieve the general public cash that these in energy have “stolen”. A normal audit listening to on non-performing loans of Improvement Financial institution of Mongolia befell final week to evaluation the initiatives and packages financed by the financial institution. Throughout the listening to, the Ministry of Finance and Improvement Financial institution reported that 20 debtors misused 508 billion MNT based mostly on estimation.

In keeping with Mongol Financial institution’s audit in 2021, non-performing loans of the financial institution amounted to 1.8 trillion MNT or 57 % of whole property. Presently, the overall mortgage portfolio quantities to three.2 trillion MNT, of which loans value 1.8 trillion MNT are non-performing and loans value over 200 billion MNT are in danger. Improvement Financial institution has filed lawsuits value 750 billion MNT towards 16 firms that didn’t repay their loans on time. The identities of one other 17 debtors with non-performing loans value 1.6 trillion MNT have been disclosed final February.

Sadly, lawmakers and authorities officers didn’t discuss who would pay for these non-performing loans and who can be held accountable. People who find themselves annoyed by the financial difficulties are protesting towards the federal government’s intentions to offset Improvement Financial institution loans. As an alternative of calling on struggling folks to chorus from spending on luxurious, state officers ought to demand those that misused billions of tugrug to repay their loans.