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این یک عنوان است.
Conversation with Ali Kalai

The 97 budget bill has caused a lot of controversy this year, and for this reason, we made great efforts to discuss the various dimensions of the budget issue in Iran with a focus on this bill. Finally, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have a conversation with Mr. Emami, an expert in this matter.

Behman Ahmadi Emovi is an economics graduate, journalist, and former political prisoner. Mr. Emovi has a background of working with newspapers such as Jame’e, Sobh-e Emrooz, Tous, Noorooz, Shargh, and Sarmaye in his resume. He has also published books such as “Political Economy of the Islamic Republic” and “How Men of the Islamic Republic Became Technocrats”.

We discussed transparency in the budget of 97 and its strengths and weaknesses with them, and we touched upon the various allocations of the budget in different areas. One of the most notable points in this conversation was in response to the last question, where Mr. Emami said: “They say the budget reflects the level of civilization and development of a country. Therefore, our level of civilization and development is proportional to our budget.”

A discussion with Behman Ahmadinejad Emami about the 97 budget bill is presented below for your opinion.

How transparent do you consider the proposed budget bill for 2019, presented by the twelfth government to the parliament, compared to previous similar bills?

This issue primarily revolves around our desire to compare this budget bill with which government and circumstances. Naturally, this bill is more transparent compared to budget bills presented by the government of Mr. Ahmadinejad – especially during their second term. This bill also has more transparent sections compared to the four previous bills of Mr. Rouhani’s government; however, in the sense that has been discussed in the virtual space, in my opinion, it lacks transparency. Because (in the virtual space) the discussion of civil institutions was raised and many came to the conclusion that the government intends to be transparent by mentioning these institutions. This is while this budget was also present in various categories before. Currently, they are transferring the budget of these institutions to some extent under the budget of certain departments. For example, imagine that the budget of cultural institutions, which was previously scattered and in different categories, is now under the supervision of the Ministry of Guidance. But the question is, how transparent is the monitoring and supervision in this

Where do you think the strength point of the 97 budget bill is?

The strength of this bill lies in the fact that it acknowledges the reality that governing a country is not an easy task. It can be said that the sources of income are very limited, while the expenses that must be incurred are very high. As a result, the income and expenses do not match and a balance must be established between them. Unnecessary expenses must be eliminated or reduced, and we must focus on real expenses. This is what I take from this year’s budget. In fact, indirectly, it suggests that we must address these issues. The fact that the government has given orders to various ministries and institutions – even in recent statements by Mr. Rouhani – to sell their affiliated companies and instead of owning companies, enter the stock market with their capital, shows that it wants to make these ministries and institutions more efficient and put money and capital at the disposal of public government institutions. On the other hand, there are rumors or discussions about reaching an agreement with military institutions to limit their economic

You mentioned the budget’s strong points. But what are the biggest weaknesses that exist and can be criticized from your perspective?

If you observe Dr. Massoud Nili’s speeches – who is the special economic advisor to the president and his chief advisor – in the past year, you will see that he always refers to several major challenges in Iran’s political economy; such as environmental issues, the banking system, and pension funds, which he believes are the Achilles heel of the Islamic Republic’s government in the future. Looking at it from this perspective, the 97 budget bill does not pay enough attention to these challenges, or pays very little attention. Therefore, this issue is one of the major weaknesses. In addition, the structural weaknesses that have always existed in Iran’s budget structure continue in this budget as well. For example, we have something called budget separation, which is done every year by the Court of Audit. In budget separation, experts examine how much revenue has been allocated to each budget line, how much of this amount has been spent in its designated place, and how much has been diverted; either not spent

On what basis are the shares of different sectors determined in the budget bill? For example, we see a small share for education and environmental sectors and even the discussion of eliminating the budget for dust particles has been raised. But on the other hand, even the smallest sources of income for the budget, such as conscription system, the government is currently generating income. What is your perspective on this issue?

Budget in Iran is an economic-political process that is usually not paid attention to by either economic experts or representatives and critics. In relation to the budget process, let me give you a concrete example. Usually in December, when the issue of presenting the budget by the government to the parliament is raised, we are faced with a series of interviews with government officials and public sector institutions that receive budget from the government. The heads of these institutions usually give interviews and talk about the projects they have in mind or their demands. In fact, they put pressure through the media beforehand, saying that we need this much budget and we want it. I say concrete because you can find its footprint in the media. But the next issue is that behind the scenes, other special events are taking place. Each minister, who has more bargaining power with those who budget, allocates a larger share of the budget to themselves. There, you convince the experts and decision-makers that, for example, this institution in the investment

Another aspect of the issue is the hidden systematic corruption in Iran. I have no intention of condemning anyone, but in reality, the process is such that behind the scenes, the experts or all those who approve the budget and then go to parliament and talk about it, and the numbers change, there are hidden hands that actually shift the interests of various groups and institutions and distribute multiple rents to individuals or take them from them. In this process, these things are shuffled around. That is why you see that the budget written by the experts of the Planning and Budget Organization is different from what is approved by the government’s Economic Commission and given to the cabinet. The budget bill that is submitted by the government to parliament is also manipulated in parliament. This process is repeated once again in the Guardian Council and the numbers are manipulated. In the end, the approved budget may only have 40-50% compatibility with the views of the experts who have reached an agreement on it at the Planning and Budget Organization.

In fact, it is a collection of factors that I have tried to briefly explain.

One of the criticisms of the government is the allocation of large budgets to religious-promotional institutions. Why do you think Mr. Rouhani could not reduce these budgets and instead invest more in expected areas such as welfare or infrastructure?

See, many questions have been raised by critics and the public as to why such a budget has been allocated to these institutions, but unfortunately no answer has been given by either the government or the representatives of the parliament. The only response that has been given is limited to comparing the transparency in the 97 budget bill with previous years’ budget bills. Some speculate that this issue may be related to changes and developments that may occur in the field of government leadership. Personally, I have no opinion on this matter and I do not know why this has happened, especially at a time when the government is facing severe budget constraints. The parliamentarians also did not bring about any change or development in this regard during their review, and I truly do not know the reason for that.

One of the things that the leader of the Islamic Republic emphasizes is the concept of “resistance economy”. What is your understanding of the term “resistance economy” and can you see any indications of it in the proposed budget bill?

“Resistance economy” means national production. National production has been emphasized for at least the past 40 years. For example, the late engineer Ezzatollah Sahabi has spoken extensively on this topic, and in general, nationalist-religious groups have worked on the issue of capitalism and national production. In fact, what I want to say is that the literature may be different, but for years, groups that are concerned about Iran and the future of this country have raised this issue. The important issue in this regard is that governments pay very little attention to this issue. A general look at the country’s exports and imports shows that our exports are mainly limited to oil and gas condensates, but our imports include all kinds of goods and services – except for land and housing, which is not possible – and in some governments, such as the government of Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, imports reach $90 billion per year. Our imports sometimes even include products like various fruits, while Iran is

Do you see this budgeting process in line with the current situation and development trend in the country? If not, what do you think should be done to improve it?

In one of the definitions that some economists use for budget, they say that budget is an indicator of the level of civilization and development of a country. Therefore, our level of civilization and development is proportional to our budget; our budget categories are non-transparent, unaccountable and untraceable. Just as we have no transparency, accountability and traceability in the levels of the country and in all branches of the system, regarding the words and money that are spent. Therefore, these two concepts are interdependent and budget reform requires reform in many government ranks.

Thank you for the opportunity you have provided us with to reach a peace agreement.