The General Budget of the Nation (PGN) would see an increase for 2023, because this Monday, September 12, after a meeting between the President Gustav Petro and the congressmen of the economic commissions, a budget addition of $14.14 billion was agreed upon.
(See: The General Budget of the Nation would add $14.14 billion).
This was confirmed Mauricio Lizcano, director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency of the Republic (Dapre), at the end of the meeting. Thus, the amount of the budget for the next year would be $405.5 billion.
It is worth mentioning that, according to the terms established by law, Congress has until this Thursday, September 15 as the deadline for approval of the amount for the next year. After this, the Legislature has until October 20, at midnight, to approve the project with the uses and appropriations by sectors.
“The largest increase in the nation’s general budget in 2023 will be in agriculture, education (infrastructure and free), health (preventive model and infrastructure), total peace and drinking water and basic sanitation”, Lizcano said through his Twitter account.
(See: Why Minhacienda will seek an increase in the 2023 Budget).
The budget project that is being discussed today in Congress was filed on July 29 by the outgoing government of Iván Duque. In this, an amount of $391.4 billion was proposed, with 250.6 billion for operating expenses, $78 billion for debt service payments and $62.8 billion for investment.
In this regard, the Minister of Finance, José Antonio Ocampo, spoke on several occasions of the need to review the budget rule, at least for the first year of the administration, since the outgoing government is the one who files the articles, and the incoming who approves it.
(See: Petro: subsidies that Duque did not budget will end in December).
In recent days the minister had announced that the Government expected to achieve an increase of at least $11 billion, with $8 billion that would come from a greater collection for the reactivation, the fight against evasion and higher taxation, and the remaining amount of financial surpluses that have not been used by some entities.
José Antonio Ocampo, Minister of Finance.
Another meeting between the Treasury and the coordinators and rapporteurs of the General Budget project is scheduled for this Tuesday, September 13.
(See: Social programs and PGN confront Petro and Duque governments again).
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