[Metro24 Hours] 'National Funds' Should Not Be Spent Recklessly Like Free Money

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] It has been one month since the launch of the 8th local government administration under direct election.

These days, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at the Government Complex Sejong are bustling with local government heads and officials from across the country. They are explaining the urgency and necessity of projects to secure even one more won of budget.

Metropolitan government heads who are former members of the National Assembly are mobilizing their political networks to the fullest. Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong is spending a busy schedule with meetings and discussions with local government officials.

This year is especially busier than usual due to the presidential and local elections. Local government heads who asked for support for "powerful ruling party candidates" during the elections have high expectations for the first budget formulation of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

However, the government has announced a policy to compulsorily reduce all discretionary spending budgets by 10%, citing an emergency in securing next year's tax revenue. The government's policy, emphasizing domestic and international economic crises, also has the effect of further shrinking the already dwindling local economic structure.

The government intends to start full-scale innovation beginning with public institutions, but local governments are concerned that this may cause them to lose opportunities to revitalize the local economy, which has been depressed by COVID-19, and to solve major issues.

This is likely because the ministries responsible for fiscal management have leaned toward preventing wasteful spending of taxpayers' money. On the other hand, it is also true that many challenges still lie ahead for local government projects to be successfully implemented.

The most serious task is, of course, how to minimize budget waste. Among them, the key is to smoothly resolve the sharp conflicts of interest between projects.

The government intends to fundamentally block unnecessary projects, but there are clearly limits when considering the inherent functions of local governments and their connection to regional development. If the necessary national funds are not provided in time, it will likely become a burden not only for financially weak local governments but also for the government.

It is also a serious problem that local governments have a dull sense of budget expenditure. Cases of budget waste are still continuously reported.

When spending taxes, above all, measures to prevent budget waste and plans for efficient use must be presented convincingly. It should be kept in mind that reckless spending as if it were free money, which brings no benefit to regional development but only wastes taxpayers' money, must be avoided.