The Economic and Social Council, the private sector consulting body to the government created in the 2010 Constitution, says that the past Fernandez administration accumulated a fiscal deficit of RD$401 billion from 2008 to 2012. The report states: “The concept of deficit is not synonymous with corruption, but there is no doubt that it cannot be discarded that a deficit can happen because of corrupt causes,” says the document, as reported in acento.com.do
The Technical Report on the Fiscal Deficit has not been formally presented or discussed, said lawyer Francisco Alvarez Valdez. The fiscal deficit in the last year of the Fernandez administration reached a record RD$187 billion. He says the worse part of it all is that the money did not contribute to reducing poverty, but was used merely for political purposes.
According to the report, the 2012 deficit came about due to clear violations of the law, such as failing to make transparent the correct amount of the electricity subsidy in compliance with the General Electricity Law 125-01. He says the government also violated Decree 307-01 on petrol prices and did not correctly adjust fuel prices.
He said the main reason for the deficit was officially admitted and was even made into law: “The President decided to finish works that it had begun even when their completion was not set out in the 2012 National Budget. The CES report says this explains why spending was higher between the 20 May presidential election and Danilo Medina’s swearing in, than from January to May.”
The report highlights the fact that, upon taking office in 2008, the Fernandez administration took measures to preserve the popularity of the government at any cost.
“The deficit of 2012 once again exposes the fact that our main problem is not passing new laws but complying with existing legislation,” continues the report.
It states that since 1966 laws have been constantly violated and no one has been held accountable for the violations, and they continue to occur with increasing repercussions for the country and its inhabitants.
The report mentions that there is complicity between political parties, which impedes the judiciary from acting. The CES urged a new awareness for change in the way public funds are managed, and calls for the active and brave participation of citizens through control mechanisms and efficient access to public information.
www.acento.com.do/index.php/news/52501/56/Informe-del-CES-Un-manejo-absolutamente-irresponsable-de-las-finanzas-publicas.html