Maybe. Should be interesting.
Danilo Medina says no more projects this year; he will await 2013 Budget - DiarioLibre.com
Danilo Medina says no more projects this year; he will await 2013 Budget - DiarioLibre.com
- Thread starter Frank the Tank
- Start date
Danilo To Be Financially Austere President??
2012 budget for the FY was already disbursed and what's still ongoing is also funded or contracted with financial for.
What this means, is that there are no new large public projects that will be taken anew before the FY 2013 budget gets done and it also includes the 4% hike for Education in it.
Since there's only so much you can cut from the budget on other parts, expect a new tax reform in many parts where it was null and void before.
There's only so much you can squeeze out from sales VAT, imports, corporate and biz revenues until you tap the RE sector via a real city/state property tax scheme which guarantees public services and maintenance of infrastructure.
Another aspect is that 24 hour circuits will be added at a faster pace, since a new load of smart and prepaid meters is due to arrive soon.
They did not leave him much money!! Boquechivo yesterday saw Danilo coming into his office and finding the desk and furnishing all gone. When he asked his secretary what happened, she told him that they had to be pawned to pay for the gasoline of all the recent inaugurations!!
I am sure that Pichardo has a better explanation but this is the one I like.
HB
I am sure that Pichardo has a better explanation but this is the one I like.
HB
No need for projects. The elections are over, no votes to buy.
Those new roads will be turning to crap the coming 1-2 years.
It's funny: Mm CB just left. And I told her that there won't be any new Big Projects until 2015. Right before the next elections.
Those new roads will be turning to crap the coming 1-2 years.
It's funny: Mm CB just left. And I told her that there won't be any new Big Projects until 2015. Right before the next elections.
Looks like people don't understand the difference between starting new projects before the FY 2013 budget is done and start with, and carrying out the projects underway and programmed for FY 2012 as of schedule?
It's not like the pubic spending for the year is done and out of money to continue what's being done NOW and programmed to be carried out as scheduled/funded.
For any new project to be taken anew the financial part MUST be made as well, and Medina clearly said he was going to stick to govern the country strictly adhered to the fiscal budget of said year.
He's doing exactly what he said he was going to do and not to expect any different from his cabinet, ministries or administration regarding public works.
It's not like the pubic spending for the year is done and out of money to continue what's being done NOW and programmed to be carried out as scheduled/funded.
For any new project to be taken anew the financial part MUST be made as well, and Medina clearly said he was going to stick to govern the country strictly adhered to the fiscal budget of said year.
He's doing exactly what he said he was going to do and not to expect any different from his cabinet, ministries or administration regarding public works.
New Property Tax coming? Electricity nonsense
So how much is the new property tax going to be and at what level of property value will it kick in?
Will they also be importing some smart people to fix the electricity problem? Smart meters won't be enough. As I said before, they were destroyed previously and will be destroyed again. The announcement should be that the government is getting out of the electricity distribution business since it has done such a wonderful job managing it. You know, like the great idea they now have of letting a business collect tolls and maintain the highways?
So how much is the new property tax going to be and at what level of property value will it kick in?
Will they also be importing some smart people to fix the electricity problem? Smart meters won't be enough. As I said before, they were destroyed previously and will be destroyed again. The announcement should be that the government is getting out of the electricity distribution business since it has done such a wonderful job managing it. You know, like the great idea they now have of letting a business collect tolls and maintain the highways?
"So how much is the new property tax going to be and at what level of property value will it kick in?"
That will cause increases for rental prices, see Panama. So who will be the stupid ones? People that want / need / only can rent a house instead of buying or building it...
That will cause increases for rental prices, see Panama. So who will be the stupid ones? People that want / need / only can rent a house instead of buying or building it...
Did you see the road from Santiago to Jarabacoa needing repairs already or left to rot? The roads already opened to traffic , which are tolled, with potholes on them?
As far as RD1 goes and the new roads and beltways, the gov will be practicing semi public/private managing of those.
I said it clearly long ago here that ALL roads in the DR will be TOLLED! And not just TOLLED for revenue and profits, but also to take care of them and expand the infrastructure as well.
All major bridges will also get Tolled!
There will be congestion TOLLS imposed in city streets where traffic problems are present today and the areas of major circulation.
But before you TOLL anything, there MUST a road that's efficient and smooth for people to PAY for that service first hand.
On January several major projects are due to start with funding from the 2013 FY budget. As Danilo said, he'll wait until the budget is approved which MUST include the 4% investment to education to pass, for him to start anything anew.
There's no more simpler way to put it!
The roads, water infrastructure, bridges, hospitals, schools, sport facilities, UASD upgrades, etc... Will be taken anew on the new 2013 FY budget. Same for the SD Metro Line 2 onto finish this phase, before starting the next phase of the same Line 2 (Los Alcarrizos and towards crossing the river).
What he would NOT do is start a new line (like 3 or the smaller other ones) in tandem to carrying out the Line new phase and operations of the existing span.
You must clearly understand the Danilo only has 4 years until Leonel comes again for re-election. He's limited to one term under the 2010 constitution as it is now.
Danilo's policy is the same left in the roll out from Leonel, from education to infrastructure. Same for financial and public investment into social programs to lessen the poverty in the country.
That's why the financial heads from Leonel's administration were left intact. So too the education, police, foreign policy makes, etc... The program and new models inserted under Leonel were not a 6 year plan thingy.
Just the education model will take well into 2020 to be fully implemented as programmed!
The changes to the immigration and foreign resident's model is also a long term solution for the local expats and Haitians alike. You won't be able to work here, unless you're legit in all levels!
It's not an overnight thing to carry out, but the bases have been put into action and the compacts into play each year.
Think of how much work is there cut out just to vetting the armed forces and police alone!
The changes are simple at naked eye, but profound when you understand the aim and goals.
Before you can clean the government officials, you must have a clean Law and Order system!
You can't change the corruption of gov from the inside but from the outside with the right tool given the right actions.
Why do you think we don't have the new Cedulas out yet? The new fully biometric passports? The new driver licenses?
The new smart guns? Etc...
Before you can have all that, you need to have the basic core in action and that core is what's taking so long to set in motion.
The DR will change for the better and you better believe that!
There's no set values as of yet... Will let you know when that time comes here!
As far as people destroying the meters? Guess what? For them to get the power on again they had to pay for the replacement meters in advanced! The ones that didn't and continued to patch onto the cables got a nasty burn when they got arrested! Guess the media didn't find that as amusing as them breaking the meters and protesting before, to have an article for their prints?
The great idea of having private biz collect tools and maintain highways? Done all over the EU and on this side of the pond too! Nothing new about that! And it works!
You did not see my point about the electricity system. My point about the "great idea you acknowledge for a private company collecting the money and maintaining the toll roads and it works" is why is this not done with the electricity system? Privatize the collection of payments for electricity as well. With the government still involved, they will fail at enforcing the laws against energy theft.
Because at present the gov is the second largest sector that consumes the electrical services and the largest overdue client as well.
It would be lights out for them the next day if they did so...
Check your itemized electrical bill to understand it...
Then the current failure mode will continue on with history just repeating itself.
The problem is not the model, but more the matrix we inherited... Oil is way too expensive today and that's why...
A large solar panel manufacturer and leader of that technology in the world of biz, is carrying out a manufacturing plant here in the DR. But before the first major load of solar panels is sold locally, we need the infrastructure to deal with the panels that are discarded or beyond their operational life as well. That's the only thing holding the plans for major solar panels for cheap, being pushed locally via the gov in the DR.
The DR has unlimited potential to absorb solar energy and transform that to power we need today, without having to send foreign currency abroad thereafter...
If we make the local panels and hardware here with cheap labor and "0" taxes applied to them, the potential is huge!
But first thing is first and just recently we got hold of dealing with decades of batteries, poisoning our soil and water.
We don't need to repeat those mistakes again, we all agreed to that...
The DR is changing the energy matrix for good, short and mid term will be Natural Gas and Coal, while the long term will be water, solar, wind, biomass/fuels, ethanol, etc... Each of those will stay put here and let billions of USD$ to recirculate in our internal economy. That's not a pennies and junk bonds thing...
The next step is to create the basis to have a real stock market with bonds and maturities, etc... Where the gov can tap the local investors from large bags to the everyday Joe, in order to secure long term funding for extensive energy projects that will dot the DR's landscape. With those two steps alone, the country will create and let grow the internal economy to new heights and financial securities.
It's all in the plans... It takes time to do, but it will be done as it's our ONLY option to get out of the mess.
Services like water and electricity, are bound to become public utilities long term alongside welfare benefits and healthcare.
Please DO send us a check with your private contribution for that program! We'll put it to good use!
If Danilo realy valio la pena, he would do something about the botellas and the ridiculously overpaid politicians who keep having the gall to ask for more money.
As a real world example of how much politicians really get paid, the son of a neighbor of a very good friend of mine who lives in Hoya de Caimito(a poor area) here in Santiago was given a political position in SD whereupon he buys three houses next to eachother en Residencial Perez at RD7,000,000 for his family and a host of vehicles, including a brand spanking new Land Rover. Not only that, it would appear there are three generations of people living in the homes who apparently do nothing all day long, all at the expense of the Dominican taxpayer. My friend and I found this out when were were doing some house contracting work next door.
Therefore, until Danilo addresses this issue I expect he will have a very difficult time raising taxes as there will be hell to pay. You just can't cut somebody with a knife and then rub salt in the wound and expect people to take it with a smile.
As a real world example of how much politicians really get paid, the son of a neighbor of a very good friend of mine who lives in Hoya de Caimito(a poor area) here in Santiago was given a political position in SD whereupon he buys three houses next to eachother en Residencial Perez at RD7,000,000 for his family and a host of vehicles, including a brand spanking new Land Rover. Not only that, it would appear there are three generations of people living in the homes who apparently do nothing all day long, all at the expense of the Dominican taxpayer. My friend and I found this out when were were doing some house contracting work next door.
Therefore, until Danilo addresses this issue I expect he will have a very difficult time raising taxes as there will be hell to pay. You just can't cut somebody with a knife and then rub salt in the wound and expect people to take it with a smile.