Minister of Economy, Planning and Development Temistocles Montas is planning cuts to the government payroll starting with the diplomatic and consular corps, a sector notorious for being padded with political patronage appointees.
To date, the government has not reduced staff numbers in government offices after initial dismissals were met with protests from employees who alleged they were protected civil servants. The same political party continues in power and Montas is serving in the same post he held under the former Fernandez administration.
In an interview on the Tele Matutino show by Ramon Nunez Ramirez and Jackeline Morel, Montas argued that the Dominican Republic is second to Guatemala in the lowest public spending in the region. He said that the fiscal deficit was mainly caused by the rising electricity subsidy and the major investment in infrastructure projects that former President Leonel Fernandez pushed to complete before his administration came to an end.
Montas reiterated that President Danilo Medina had promised that this latest taxation proposal will be the only one during his period of office and it was needed to balance the budget. Medina has included several taxation increases in his proposal that had been rejected in the multiple taxation increases applied during former President Fernandez’s eight-year term that saw the government reach new spending records, and was ranked tops in the world in wasteful government spending.
Meanwhile, the Dominican Anti-Corruption Alliance (Adocco) is asking Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito to investigate Minister Montas, along with former ministers of Hacienda Vicente Bengoa and Daniel Toribio and the former director of the National Budget Luis Hernandez to make them accountable for the RD$183 billion deficit. Adocco coordinator Julio Cesar de la Rosa Tiburcio said they are requesting the investigation because the deficit is product of violations of the Constitution and the National Budget Law.
www.eldia.com.do/nacionales/2012/10/10/96104/Temoinforma-reduccion-de-nomina-en-Cancilleria