Civil society organization Justicia Fiscal says that the reduction of the deficit projected at 0.7% of GDP to 0.1% of GDP during the first quarter of the year cannot be attributed to savings because of better management of public funds, but instead to delays in the implementation of infrastructure works, as reported in Hoy. In a document, Justicia Fiscal says that during the first quarter less than half of what was budgeted for capital spending was implemented because RD$7.02 billion in foreign funds did not come in on time. The entity says it is incoherent for the government to release data on budgetary execution for the first quarter of 2013 without first reporting on the execution of the national budget in 2012.
Speaking for Justicia Fiscal, Ramon Batista and Manuel Robles said that since November, citizens do not have access to information on spending, financing, investment projects and income statements on the government transparency website, www.portaldelciudadano.gov.do
They say that the first report on the budgetary execution in the first quarter of the year and the announcement of RD$9 billion in investment to stimulate the economy includes omissions and manipulations of budgetary data.
The civic movement is calling on the government to publish monthly budgetary execution statements.
Concurring with the fudging of budgetary information, former congressional advisor Jose Rijo told Hoy that the quarterly budget report recently presented by the Medina Administration lacks transparency and violates the Budget Law. He said that the government failed to spend RD$15 billion in priority areas so it could pay a debt inherited from the Fernandez administration that was not set out in the National Budget.
He said that the ministries most affected were the Presidency, and the Ministries of Education, Public Works, Public Health and the Treasury, which suffered budget cuts of RD$13.8 billion.
www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2013/5/7/479412/Gobierno-sacrificoprogramaspara-pagar-unadeuda-ajena
www.hoy.com.do/economia/2013/5/6/479148/Justicia-Fiscalnohubo-superavit-en-trimestre
http://justiciafiscal.com/2013/04/justicia-fiscal-reclama-publicacion-mensual-de-ejecucion-presupuestaria/