27.05.2021.
Minister Stefanović: Someone obviously has a real problem with strengthening the Serbian Armed Forces
Reacting to certain politicians and analysts’ criticism of increasing the funds allocated for the armed forces by the budget rebalance, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, said that someone obviously had a real problem with strengthening the Serbian Armed Forces.
The Minister said that the claims that the state had irrationally and illogically increased investment in the defence sector, more precisely in armaments, by 40%, amidst the Covid crisis, instead of in health care, were arbitrary and malicious.
“More than 7.5 billion dinars were allocated for the construction of Covid hospitals in Batajnica, Kruševac and Novi Sad, which were built on military land with the help of the Military Construction Institution, as well as for the functioning of the military health system, including medical workers’ salaries, the treatment of a large number of people, and equipping military medical institutions. I remind you that military health care is making every effort to fight the Covid pandemic, but it has also taken over some of the civilian health care’s heavy burden and is available to all patients, regardless of whether they are military insured or not," Stefanovic said.
He also noted that the increased budget allocation included an increase in soldiers’ salaries, whose standard of living deserved investing in.
“When the military was impoverished, they criticized the state for not allocating funds for the armed forces and soldiers’ salaries, for new uniforms and armament. They said that our barracks were falling apart, that we only had two planes in good running order, and now that we are investing money in the armed forces, they are criticizing us for doing so. I am really proud that the new budget includes salary increases for soldiers, who deserve that, but also the purchase of new military equipment and weapons, because we want the Serbian Armed Forces to be the strongest in the region," the Minister said.
It is obvious, Stefanović said, that there is a matrix of malicious comments from usual critics which normally follows every investment or move that contributes to the strengthening of our armed forces.
He added that the defence system was both satisfied and grateful to the state for the increase in investments with the aforementioned budget rebalance.
“That is a huge amount of money for the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces. But at the same time, like all responsible citizens of Serbia, we are glad that the state has recognized that the fight against the pandemic is a priority and that the funds allocated for vaccines and medical equipment, as well as for increasing salaries for doctors and medical staff throughout Serbia, are much larger. And it is a shame that someone is trying to diminish Serbia's efforts in the fight against Covid-19", said Stefanović.
