NewsWhore
12-27-2006, 04:30 PM
The Executive Branch sent a bill to Congress on Thursday, 21 December aimed at transferring RD$6.6 billion from this year's budget. The transfers will reduce the Education budget by $854 million, Public Health by RD$706.9 million, the Presidency by RD$2.3 billion, Finance by RD$1.37 billion and Agriculture by RD$150 million. Of these funds, the Presidency will receive RD$3.73 billion to transfer RD$1.1 billion for the construction of the Santo Domingo metro, RD$1.89 billion to the Office for the Supervision of Public Works and RD$720 million for social protection. The bill also allocates RD$2.6 billion to the Ministry of Public Works, RD$85.6 million to the Ministry of Foreign Relations, RD$50 to the Ministry of Finance, and RD$46 million to Interior and Police, RD$12.6 million to Armed Forces, RD$15 million to Public Health and RD$17.1 million to Agriculture.
The bill authorizes the transfer of RD$5.09 billion of the surplus of revenues produced with the implementation of the Petrocaribe agreement to be used in the subsidy of the electricity sector.
The bill would be reviewed by the Chamber of Deputies that is made up by a majority of ruling party PLD deputies.
Diario Libre comments that the transfer is an age-old government practice. The newspaper speculates that the transfer is certain to have funded the RD$700 million the government spent on distributing Christmas dinner food boxes. In an editorial commentary, the newspaper says that the transfer is financing the cost of the congressional election in May and picking up part of the cost of the election to come. "It is an old budget trick of Dr. Balaguer: Assign millions to ministries that provide the government with a good image, and then transfer the funds away at the end of the year. Nothing has changed."
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
The bill authorizes the transfer of RD$5.09 billion of the surplus of revenues produced with the implementation of the Petrocaribe agreement to be used in the subsidy of the electricity sector.
The bill would be reviewed by the Chamber of Deputies that is made up by a majority of ruling party PLD deputies.
Diario Libre comments that the transfer is an age-old government practice. The newspaper speculates that the transfer is certain to have funded the RD$700 million the government spent on distributing Christmas dinner food boxes. In an editorial commentary, the newspaper says that the transfer is financing the cost of the congressional election in May and picking up part of the cost of the election to come. "It is an old budget trick of Dr. Balaguer: Assign millions to ministries that provide the government with a good image, and then transfer the funds away at the end of the year. Nothing has changed."
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)