National Budget director Luis Reyes says that the government will need one more year of austerity to consolidate the accounts and to reduce the fiscal deficit over the short, medium and long term.
Reyes said that the government was moving forward with this task and would not abandon fiscal discipline despite making major investments in public works to invigorate the economy.
He continued by saying that the task was more ambitious than just reducing the deficit to 2.8% of the GDP. It seeks to reduce the deficit over the short, medium and long term to zero, or at least to around 1% to GDP by 2014.
News reports recently carried statements by Justicia Fiscal and economists that said that more than fiscal discipline, the savings had come from cutting capital works. The Medina administration is not making available monthly budgetary implementation statements.
The National Budget director also announced that the renegotiation with the Barrick Gold mining company means that the government will receive an additional US$550 million if the price of gold continues at US$1,600 per ounce. An addendum with the modification needs to be submitted to Congress, but first the draft of the agreement needs to be presented to the legislators for approval. The original contract with Barrick stipulated that the government would receive less than US$100 million a year.
www.listindiario.com/economia-y-negocios/2013/5/13/276759/El-Gobierno-requierede-otro-ano-de-austeridad-para-lograr-meta-de