Tag: Gobierno Dominicano

For the fourth consecutive year, public institutions have resources available to execute their expenditures starting January 10th.

The measure is the result of significant government efforts to streamline budgeting processes. In this regard, the execution of the 2024 General State Budget is formally underway, earlier than ever before, and the annual planning previously carried out by the institutions is being implemented. The Director General of the Budget, José Rijo Presbot, announced the start of the 2024 budget execution process, beginning January 10th, through the State Financial Management Information System (SIGEF). This way, during the four fiscal years of President Luis Abinader's current administration, institutions can have these resources available in a timely manner for their execution and the achievement of their targets just days after the start of the year. The Director General of the Budget made the announcement during the Council of Ministers and Directors General meeting held this Tuesday at the National Palace, chaired by President Luis Abinader and Vice President Raquel Peña. The meeting addressed in detail the internal processes planned for the 2024 budget execution, the stages of expenditure, and their respective records. In this regard, the meeting served as the initial coordination point between the General Directorate of Budget (DIGEPRES), as the governing body of the budget cycle, and the highest ministerial authorities, in order to guarantee the proper execution of the resources allocated by Law No. 80-23, the 2024 General State Budget. Following the enactment of the aforementioned law and its subsequent administrative distribution, the budget execution process formally begins. This process is available to each public institution through the State Financial Management Information System (SIGEF), enabling them to register and manage the expenditure transactions and commitments required to carry out their programmed activities during the fiscal year, in accordance with their planning. Historically, the availability of these resources for implementation caused significant delays in institutional and overall government performance. However, this poor practice has been overcome by the current administration after four years of full and timely compliance. This achievement is due to prioritizing efficient planning and management, streamlining the budget cycle processes to improve the quality of public spending. With the announcement, Rijo Presbot also reiterated that, as part of the implementation processes for 2024, institutions will prepare their budget programs, adhering to the current legal framework and the regulations and guidelines established by DIGEPRES. He also emphasized that, according to Decree No. 15-17, institutions may not initiate purchasing or contracting processes, nor transfer funds to the private sector, without a "Budgetary Appropriation Certificate." It is important to remember that, through Resolution No. 157-2022 of the Ministry of Finance, it was established that this certificate is automatically generated in the SIGEF system from the Transactional Portal, guaranteeing that the amount is reserved throughout the entire process until the contract is signed. Transparency, among major achievements of budget management. It is worth highlighting that, among the major achievements of the current budget management, the Dominican Republic has positioned itself among the top 3 countries with the greatest budget transparency in the Americas and number 9 in the world. These efforts toward transparency and social oversight include the publication, for the first time ever, of the Weekly Budget Execution Report, available every Tuesday through the Digepres.gob.do portal and the social media accounts @DigepresRD, which allows for detailed monitoring of the management of public resources.