The Medina administration has rejected a bid to cut RD$59.4 billion in what has been described as wasteful spending by the Economic and Social Council, the governmental consulting body. As reported, the government economic team says that reducing this spending would affect macroeconomics and social stability, as reported in El Caribe. The CES deemed that the money could be cut from chapters allocated to propaganda, bonuses, per diems and representation expenditures and other chapters deemed wasteful spending. The past Fernandez administration was deemed tops in the world in wasteful spending by the World Economic Forum in its Global Competitiveness Report 2012.
But the Medina government argues they need the funds for the extra expenditures they will have in the additional RD$10.4 billion needed for the electricity sector, RD$99.6 billion for the education sector, and RD$29.6 billion to pay interest payments on public debt.
Minister of Economy, Planning and Development Temistocles Montas, who continues in the post in the Medina administration, said there is no precedent in government for such a hefty budgetary reduction and that would be what has never been done.
The media, business sector and civil society have criticized government budgets for being heavily padded with political patronage expenses.