Day: July 31, 2024

Digepres holds meeting with alternative and traditional media to promote the use of citizen budgeting tools

Citizen Meeting is an initiative of the current budget administration that seeks to promote transparency, participation, and social oversight. The General Directorate of Budget held a Citizen Meeting with alternative and traditional media outlets to publicize and reinforce the use of available citizen tools for transparency in the General State Budget and to foster participation and social oversight. This activity is part of the Budget Directorate's ongoing efforts to promote transparency, access to public information, and citizens' right to know. The meeting was led by the General Director of Budget, José Rijo Presbot, who was accompanied by Rafael Jovine, Director of Economic Studies and Financial Monitoring; Ana Miguelina Terrero, Head of Performance Evaluation; Sorangel González, Head of the Economic Analysis and Studies Department; Juan Portalatín, Head of Financial Management for Formulation and Execution; Paola Chaljub, Head of the Communications Department; and Airon Fernández, Budget Programs Specialist. The welcoming remarks were delivered by Rijo Presbot, who addressed various economic topics and debunked misconceptions surrounding the General State Budget (PGE). “Breaking with the concept of a supplementary budget has been difficult for us. It has been reformulated,” reiterated Presbot, referring to the modification of the General State Budget requested by the Executive Branch, usually during the second half of the fiscal year, which must be approved by law in the National Congress. He also emphasized the importance of handling data correctly. “Budget matters are complex in terms of analysis, structuring, and data handling; hence the importance of sound criteria for selecting information,” explained the Budget Director. He added that this Citizen Meeting aims to equip public opinion leaders with the skills to report on the PGE more objectively. The meeting included an explanatory presentation on the use of the tools and information available on the Citizen Budget portal, led by the Digepres technical team. The first presentation was given by Airon Fernández, who explained that the Citizen Meetings are a direct dialogue between Digepres and civil society. This initiative, launched by this administration, seeks to foster citizen participation at every stage of the budget cycle and reaffirm the institution's commitment to the true Right to Know. Ana Terrero then addressed the budget from the perspective of the Implementing Units and how to disaggregate information related to their institutional activities, including goals, planning, and monitoring. Similarly, Sorangel González led a virtual tour of the institutional portal and the Citizen Budget subportal, explaining how to access tools and public information, such as reports and other documents produced by the institution that are of public interest. Juan Portalatin explained the importance of understanding financial concepts and managing data. He also addressed the budget classification systems that aim to standardize and systematize the information necessary for budget formulation, in accordance with the objectives of economic policy. Meanwhile, Rafael Jovine presented the new 2024 budget simulator, available on the Citizen Budget subportal, which engaged attendees and demonstrated how each decision in budget formulation directly impacts every public policy and program developed by the Government. In his presentation, Jovine emphasized that the new public management seeks a more efficient and effective administration in its processes, while also being closer to the citizen. Citizen Meetings and Media Engagement: The General Directorate of Budget (Digepres) has been holding meetings with communication professionals in the field of economics and finance through Citizen Meetings to reaffirm its commitment to transparency, closeness to the public, and to guarantee, for the first time in government, social participation in the formulation of the General State Budget. Citizen Meeting is an open initiative that seeks to bring the Budget closer to the population and can be requested through the email [email protected]. This meeting was attended by economic editors from the newspapers Acento, Diario del País and Diario Libre; in addition, communicators and economists with a presence on social networks.