President Danilo Medina issued Decree 15-17 that applies to the control and fulfillment of public expenditures, as reported in El Nacional. The objective of the executive order is to improve the transparency in government purchases and to ensure the prompt payment of its suppliers.
According to the Presidential Minister Gustavo Montalvo, the decree is aimed at “eliminating some gray areas or gaps that might allow for situations that are not in accord with the spirit of the established processes to irregularly occur.”
Among other things, the decree says that government entities must certify the availability of funds before going through a purchasing process. Montalvo explained that the crisis of the 2003-2004 years put into evidence the need to strengthen the legal framework of public finances, from the Treasury and the Budget Office all the way to the handling of the funds and purchasing processes.
9 February 2017
