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This meeting with municipalities in southern Cibao responds to the interest of Digepres and the Solidarity Foundation to bring the budget closer to the public and strengthen the management of local governments. It has the support of Fedomu, Fedodim and Municipal League
Following an agreement signed between the General Directorate of Budget and the Solidarity Foundation, to continue fostering closer ties between civil society and specifically with city councils and municipal boards, the Department of Local Governments of the Digepres He began a series of meetings with municipalities and citizens to publicize the progress made in implementing changes and improvements to the Programmatic Structure of local governments.
Representatives and authorities from nine municipalities in the southern Cibao region attended a meeting in the city of La Vega and learned about the details and progress of the project, presented by the Local Governments team, in an activity that had the support of the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (Fedomu)Dominican Federation of Municipal Districts (Fedodim) and the Dominican Municipal League.
The event was led by José Rijo Presbot, Director General of the Budget; Ángel Mercedes, representative of the Dominican Municipal League; Yunior Torres, Mayor of Jarabacoa and representative of the board of directors of the Cibao South region; Violeta Sánchez, technical coordinator of Fedomu in southern Cibao and Juan Castillo, executive director of the Solidarity Foundation.
In his keynote address, Rijo Presbot highlighted the support and receptiveness of local governments, which has allowed for a smooth budgeting process, and reiterated that the intention of these changes is to continue making the management of city councils more transparent. “Since we arrived at the institution, there was a clear line of decision that the management of the municipalities had to be strengthened, and for that purpose we created an exclusive department for local governments.”Rijo said.
Ángel Mercedes, for his part, reiterated the Dominican Municipal League's commitment to the effective performance of local governments. Meanwhile, Kathia Lambis and Juan Castillo detailed the long-standing work they have been doing directly with municipalities and the Solidarity Foundation's connection to the Open Budget survey, which measures aspects of budget management in more than 100 countries, including the Dominican Republic, which ranks among the top three in the region for budget transparency.
On behalf of the Local Governments team, Huáscar Ventura thanked the municipalities for their support in implementing the changes to the Programmatic Structure and reiterated that “This effort involves inter-institutional coordination that would not be possible without the collaboration of the city councils and municipal boards.”In addition, Yohanna Santos and Alberto Villanueva explained the details and advantages of the new features that will be implemented.
Leivan Díaz, representative of Fedomu, highlighted the importance of developing an Annual Operating Plan for municipalities and the commitments that authorities must assume and fulfill with the communities. “An Operational Plan improves institutional credibility, transparency and strengthens management by presenting concrete results in the long-term plan”Díaz indicated.
Representatives from Bonao, Cotuí, Jarabacoa, Piedra Blanca, Maimón, Jima Bejucal, Fantino, Jima Abajo and Jayacao – La Ceiba attended this meeting.
Working day
The meeting, coordinated by the Budget and Solidarity Foundation, took place after a long day of work in Santiago and is the first in a series of activities included in the agenda and terms of a cooperation agreement signed in January between both institutions.
It is worth noting that both Digepres and the Solidarity Foundation have been working for years on the design and dissemination of the Citizen Budget and the Municipal Citizen Budget, as a way to extend the reach of the public budget and ensure that the document is easily and simply understood by the general public.
The Citizen Budget is available for reading and download on the Digepres.gob.do portal and on institutional social media. @DigepresRD.
