Reforming the public and the wider public sector should be based on an integrated programme of the state’s operating restructuring, with specific and long-term targets that will not eliminate the social and quality dimension of offered services, according to a recommendation by the Economic and Social Commission (Oke).
The proposal was included in a draft National Reforms Programme (2011-2014).
The Commission, in its report, stressed that the government should proceed urgently with all necessary reforms to create stability in the business environment, low bureaucratic costs and a stable tax framework focusing on development, in order to transform the country into an attractive investment destination for domestic and foreign capital.
Oke noted that a fundamental resolution of the fiscal problem demanded that the government urgently promoted the necessary reforms envisaging an integrated long-term and growth planning. The reforms which will lead the country to an export-growth model, limiting the GDP’s dependence on domestic consumption, boosting research and innovation, supporting healthy business activity, combating tax and social insurance evasion, strengthening transparency.
The report stressed that strict austerity has never acted as a strategy for growth and Greece cannot repay its debt and become economically and socially sustainable without growth. Oke rejected any further horizontal cuts in wages and pensions as part of efforts to cut the country’s fiscal deficit saying the measure would have only temporary benefits.
The report also stressed it was important to have a detailed plan of how to have a better management of the state’s real estate property.
ANA
