First Lady manages juicy budget

[NewsWhore]

The First Lady's office implements numerous and diverse initiatives which convert it into a quasi-ministry financed by public and private funding, according to Clave weekly newspaper. During the last 24 months, the department has received RD$321.1 million from the national budget, with a funding increase of 246%. It started in September 2004 with monthly allocations of RD$5.6 million and reached RD$19.3 million last July. The increases have been gradual while First Lady Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez's activism has been extraordinary, according to the report. Her office has also received state funds indirectly from INDOTEL (RD$16 million) towards the construction of eight technological community centers, and from the Heritage Fund for Reformed Enterprises (FONPER), with which it recently signed an agreement. Other funds are from private donations to the Foundation created by the First Lady and from benefit dinners and cultural events organized by her department. It's not known how much she has collected from the latter. The funds are used to build schools, refurbish hospitals and grant scholarships, according to the office's website. Given the First Lady's presence on so many different stages of life in the DR, her name even shows up on popularity surveys. Her charisma, youth, and overflowing energy stimulate the imagination, leading some to speculate about her own political aspirations.

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