Tag: Ciclo presupuestario

Digepres and Fundación Solidaridad hold seminar on strengthening citizen participation in the budget cycle

The activity stemmed from a collaboration agreement for the governance and social control of the public budget at the local level, signed between DIGEPRES and Fundación Solidaridad Barahona. – With the aim of contributing to strengthening the knowledge and capacities of local governments and civil society regarding citizen participation in the public budget, the General Directorate of Budget (Digepres) and Fundación Solidaridad held the workshop “Territorial Dialogue on the 2024 Budget Formulation and the Strengthening of Citizen Participation in the Budget Cycle.” The seminar is part of the activities included in the framework agreement for collaboration on the governance and social control of the national budget at the local level, signed this year between DIGEPRES and Fundación Solidaridad. The seminar's opening ceremony was presided over by José Rijo Presbot, Director General of Budget; Míctor Emilio Fernández, Mayor of Barahona; Genara González Marmolejos, Governor of the Province of Barahona; Ángel Fernández, Director of the Dominican Municipal League; and Juan Castillo, Executive Director of Fundación Solidaridad. Oneida Feliz, head of the regional office of the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (Fedomu), and Leomary Liriano García, head of the Articulation and Planning Department of the Vice Ministry of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPyD), the entities that sponsored the event, were present. The welcoming remarks were delivered by Míctor Emilio Fernández, mayor of Barahona, who explained President Luis Abinader's interest in training officials from state institutions to strengthen transparency and performance in their duties. "Acting with transparency requires knowing what tools allow us to efficiently manage public resources to guarantee the general well-being of the community," said Fernández. For his part, José Rijo Presbot, Director of the Budget Office, indicated that this and other meetings, aimed at contributing to citizen-led participatory budgeting, were made possible through a strategic alliance with the Solidarity Foundation and the support of the Dominican Municipal League (LMD), the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (Fedomu), and the Dominican Federation of Municipal Districts (Fedodim). “Upon our arrival at the Budget Office, we formed an alliance with the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development to unify plans and budgets because what isn't budgeted doesn't exist. Now we are responding, defining priorities to be closer to the people,” stated Rijo Presbot. He also said that promoting development and respect for institutions is a government priority. He indicated that one of the identified needs was strengthening local governments, while emphasizing that citizens should be aware of the work of public institutions because it is both a duty and a right. Ángel Mercedes, executive director of the Dominican Municipal League, expressed that strong institutions contribute to a better country, and therefore valued the actions of the Budget Office (Digepres) to strengthen government entities in budgetary matters. Meanwhile, Juan Castillo, from the Solidarity Foundation, considered it a priority to democratize the budget at the local level and involve civil society in the process. The seminar featured presentations by specialists in the field, including Rafael Jovine, Director of Economic Studies and Financial Monitoring; Norvin Bergés and Alberto Villanueva, Sector Coordinator for Local Government Budgets; and Leomary Liriano García, Head of the Planning Coordination Department at the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPyD). Topics covered in the training session included transparency, citizenship and social oversight, the presentation of the Single Registry of Territorial Citizen Demands (RUDCT), and the new Programmatic Structure for local governments. The event was also supported by the Catholic Technological University of Barahona (UCATEBA), presided over by Reverend Marco Antonio Pérez, and was aimed at representatives of the development councils of 22 local governments in Barahona, the Southwest Regional Planning Office, and representatives of civil society. Territorial Meetings: This activity is one of five meetings held in different provinces across the country as part of the collaboration agreement for Governance and Social Control of the General Budget, with the support of municipal and social entities. The event concluded with a panel discussion entitled “Participation of Municipal Development Councils in Strategic and Budgetary Planning Processes,” led by Oneida Féliz of FEDOMU and Horacio Medrano of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPyD).