In readying the draft state budget for its second reading, the Cabinet of Ministers increased expenditures for defense, law and order, and security by UAH 228.7 million, including UAH 150 million for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and UAH 13 million for other law- enforcement bodies. A Ministry of Finance statement released last Friday says that the Ministry of Defense is eligible for UAH 50 million of the total amount. The cabinet forwarded the 2002 draft state budget on November 22 to Verkhovna Rada, where it is expected to be passed in the second reading on November 29.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has also increased social expenditures by more than UAH 600 million, including UAH 311.2 million for education and UAH 200 million for the social security of individuals who suffered from the Chornobyl disaster. Also increased were annual Victory Day lump-sum benefits to third group of disabled war veterans and combatants from UAH 40 to UAH 80 and 60 respectively, which will require an additional UAH 13.5 million, Interfax- Ukraine reports. The government also added UAH 15 million for a centralized purchase of high-cost medical equipment, UAH 8.5 million to support social security measures and organizations of the disabled, UAH 9 million for the centralized treatment of cancer patients, and UAH 5 million for the computerization of secondary schools.
