State budget - Accounting Court criticizes state government for debt mountain
The State Audit Office criticizes the increasing debt mountain in Saxony-Anhalt. The already massive debt mountain of the state had grown by around 422 million Euro to 22.88 billion Euro in the past year, criticized Rechnungshof-President Kay Barthel.
Per capita debt had risen to 10,491 Euro. In neighboring Saxony, per capita debt was only 3,193 Euro. "This is a clear indicator that the state government cannot get a handle on the rapid increase in spending," said Barthel.
One observes that the state government can only finance its budget through new debts. Since 2020, a state of emergency has been declared annually to be able to take out corresponding loans and disable the debt brake. Expenditures were being shifted into shadow budgets.
Even for the upcoming budget negotiations, the state audit office plans to deal with a state of emergency, so the Rechnungshof. "We explicitly do not share the interpretation of the state government regarding the state of emergency," emphasized Barthel. According to Barthel, the definition of the state of emergency, with the consequences of the Corona pandemic, is not clear-cut and goes against a potential judicial review.
In several areas, the audit office sees negligence by the state government:
Errors in the procurement of laptops for schools
To make the schools fit for the Corona pandemic, the state of Saxony-Anhalt had around 14 million Euro at its disposal. However, the implementation took too long, criticized Rechnuswahmeister Barthel. Usable devices were only available after one year. The reasons for this were, on the one hand, the worldwide high demand for notebooks and associated delivery bottlenecks. But there were also internal reasons in the procurement process.
A mistake had been made in that the Ministry of Education had left it up to the 208 school administrators to decide whether they wanted to procure the end devices themselves or centrally. In the central procurement, the Ministry then lacked experience. There were also deficiencies in the distribution of the devices. It was not plausible why primary school students were treated less favorably than other schools. Some notebooks had never been used.
Dilapidated state roads
"The 4,000 kilometer long state road network is in a worrying condition," said Barthel. Currently, 45 percent of the state roads are assessed as very poor. A need for repair exists even for more than 60 percent. The values are higher than at the last inspection in 2009. "These numbers alone illustrate the high investment requirement necessary so that our roads do not become dangerous potholes in the future."
Overburdening of the Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau
According to its statutes, the Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau is responsible for a range of its and rented properties - beyond the actual Bauhaus building. Several buildings, such as the Meisterhaus Ensemble or the Bauhaus Museum of the City, are explicitly not mentioned but are still managed by the foundation. This is an additional burden that the foundation can only cope with personally and organizationally with great effort. Prospectively, there is a significant financing risk.
Excessive costs in construction
The Finance Ministry has not always been able to prove that the favored solution was also the most economical in some construction projects. The Rechnungshof mentions, for example, at the Justice Detention Center Burg and at the Amtsgericht Bitterfeld-Wolfen, significant cost increases.
High public expenditures
With around 4.5 billion Euro, public expenditures on civil servants are too high, according to the Auditor. "We live in the age of digitalization," said Barthel. "Other countries are doing it better." For example, Finland has fewer people but doesn't have the feeling that the state is ineffective. In light of the changing demography in the country, costs need to be drastically reduced here.
- The Court of Audit, led by President Kay Barthel, has expressed concerns about the rising reliance of the Saxony-Anhalt government on new debts to finance its state budget, contributing to the growing 'debt mountain'.
- Households in neighboring Saxony have significantly lower per capita debt compared to Saxony-Anhalt, raising questions about the state government's ability to manage its finances effectively, as critiqued by Barthel.
- In light of the findings by the Court of Audit, it has been proposed that the state of emergency be reconsidered, with President Barthel emphasizing that the justification and consequences of this state need to be clear to avoid potential judicial challenges.
