Editorial | In the midst of cuts, even a small waste of public money makes me nervous

Ballitus has pushed through a large number of savings that have already affected many Finns. The VAT increases that will come into effect in the fall also apply to the rest.

There has been a reasoned discussion about the targeting and size of the cuts, and tax increases have not been approved without protests either. The matter could also have an impact on the outcome of the EU elections, especially the support of the Finance Minister’s Party by the Basic Finns.

Despite the differences, Finns widely understand that the state economy needs to be balanced. On the other hand, there is not enough understanding for the recently revealed news about the inefficient use of tax resources.

Vnational economy inspection agency recently released its report information system projects of the police and judicial administration, which have been in the public domain before. There were three projects, one for each system to be improved. In addition, the goal was to create an interoperable entity from these three information systems for handling criminal cases.

This goal was not realized, and in addition, each project was several years behind the original schedule. By the end of 2023, a total of more than 200 million euros had been spent on system development, which was “almost three times more than originally planned”. According to the National Audit Office, the main reason was poor planning in the initial phase, which is why the real scope of the projects became clear to the implementers only after the projects had already started. In addition, according to the report, the management and control groups of the projects worked actively, but did not intervene in the problems.

Talouselämä magazine has presented the Työkanava company founded by the previous government, whose purpose was to help in the employment of the partially able-bodied. The company’s achievements remained small, but 1.5 million euros had been spent on operations in the year, of which more than 516,000 euros were spent on the salary and bonuses of the management. It has now been decided to close down the company, but the management’s salaries will continue to be paid.

Also attracted attention the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ idea of ​​hiring an expensive law firm to investigate the case of harassment of the Finnish embassy in Ottawa. The Parliament’s ombudsman announced that he was investigating the procedure in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was using a private law firm to investigate an occupational health and safety matter belonging to the employer. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs withdrew its intention, according to the ministry’s own formulation, after the high price of the report was discovered.

Under the surface, there are other cases where ministries and agencies, for example, transfer their tasks to consultants and spend money on brand building.

VAltio has a lot of work to do, and a superficial and populist comparison is of no use. Finland also has a high-quality and accurate civil service, the vast majority of which avoid waste. Problems are exceptional cases.

However, it is good for the management of ministries and agencies to be aware that millions and hundreds of thousands of euros are small amounts in the state budget, but easily understood by citizens. They strongly affect mental images.

Thriftiness is important in itself in this situation of the state economy, but now it’s also about a sense of fairness and trust in the system.

The editorials are HS’s positions on a current topic. The articles are prepared by HS editorial staff, and they reflect the magazine principle line.