In a front page story today, the Listin Diario newspaper focuses on the rapid pace the ministries of public health, public works, sports and industry & commerce and the public works department are gobbling up their 2001 budget. The Listin Diario says they have overdrawn their budgets by RD$8,482 million. The newspaper stands behind forecasts that if the government continues this pace of spending, at year end there will be a RD$10,000+ million fiscal deficit. It reports that already several government departments are having difficulties meeting their payrolls, paying suppliers and carrying out programs because of the overspending. El Siglo reports that the government had planned to spend 66% on current expenditures, but this has increased to 75%. Furthermore Finance Minister Fernando Alvarez Bogaert revealed that during the first half of the month, fiscal revenues were RD$90 million below expectations. Hoy newspaper says the payroll has increased RD$134 million in the first trimester of the year, for 310,000 public workers, or RD$1,504 million a month. That represents 30% of the total budget and almost half of the current expenditures of the government.
