Day: August 9, 2023

Budget Director: “In 3 years the Government has addressed social debts that have accumulated over 30 years”

Rijo Presbot announced that the revised 2023 Budget will allow for increased capital spending and will focus on land infrastructure, water, and housing as pillars of the government's social policy. The Director General of the Budget, José Rijo Presbot, assured that the resources to be incorporated into the revised Budget, already approved by the Finance Committee, will boost the economy given the low inflation rate, which has remained below 41% per 100,000 for the past three years of the administration. According to Rijo, this will allow for the management of more resources by the end of the year and an increase in imports due to the capital injection. He added that the largest investment in the revised Budget is related to land infrastructure, water, and housing. “For the Ministry of Public Works, there is an increase of approximately RD$1,444,160 billion as an executing unit, but as a budget item, it has approximately RD$1,444,200 billion, because that includes OPRET with the second Metro line, which has a significant increase,” he emphasized. On the other hand, Rijo Presbot pointed out that the Ministry of Housing is slated for an increase of approximately RD$1,444,500 billion; and that RD$1,444,000 will be allocated to complete important water-related projects through the National Institute of Drinking Water (INAPA). “In other words, everything is geared towards housing, water, and infrastructure with capital investment,” added the Budget Director. He highlighted the investment made in the development of Montecristi and Pedernales as one of the achievements of this administration. “We are responding in three years to such a challenging situation as the one we have faced, addressing 30 years of accumulated social debt,” stated Rijo Presbot. “We have maintained a deficit target of 31.3 trillion pesos (TP3T), and from 2021 to 2023 the average is 31.3 trillion pesos. In contrast, from 2017 to 2019 the average was 3.51 TP3T. Those from the past cannot speak to me about the level of indebtedness because they incurred more debt and used it for illegal expenses.” He assured that this modification to the Budget, through the Reformulated Budget, will allow for an increase in capital spending of approximately RD$1.44 trillion by the end of the year. Impunity, an opportunity for corruption. The elimination of administrative debt and illegal borrowing are among the achievements of this administration cited by José Rijo. As he explained, from 2021 to 2023, thanks to the implemented control measures and compliance with regulations, all planned expenditures have consistently had budgetary backing. He noted that both the Procurement and Contracting Portal and the Financial Management Information System (SIGEF) now work in coordination to guarantee the budgetary allocation of tenders, and this, he attributed, to the trust of contractors and suppliers in the government. He reiterated that current controls and levels of transparency reinforce the certainty that any official who engages in acts of corruption will face the consequences. “Now everything is known. Before, it wasn't, because impunity provided an opportunity for corruption,” he pointed out. In that vein, Rijo Presbot asserted that “this is a sensible, intelligent people, who believe they can be deceived, but that's not the case. There needs to be a clear understanding that impunity cannot return, the independence of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office must continue, and there must be greater transparency in the management of public resources.” José Rijo Presbot, Director General of the Budget, made these statements during an interview on the program “No se diga más” (Let's Not Say Anymore), hosted by Alexander Barrios, Karina Alarcón, Odette Hidalgo, and Máximo Romero, which airs on Top Latina FM.