Santo Domingo.-With the loan With another US$500 million added to the supplementary budget for the expansion of Line 2-C of the Santo Domingo Metro, the loans that support this year’s budget rise to more than US$9 billion, said the spokesman for the Fuerza del Pueblo bloc of deputies, Rafael Tobías Crespo.
The number of loans from international organizations that the Government takes out for expenses also rises to 50.
He explained that during the sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Chamber of Deputies approved three loans for US$485 million which, according to the documentation sent by the Executive Branch, would be used to finance the Emergency Response and Resilience Project, health and sustainable investments.
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He explained that this has gone unnoticed due to the Government’s alleged strategy of distracting the people’s attention with the issue of the reform of the Penal Code.
Last Wednesday the Senate of the Republic declared an emergency and approved in two consecutive sessions thirty-five thousand three hundred and sixty million, four thousand four hundred and twenty-three Dominican pesos (RD$35,360,004,423.00),
He reported that at the meeting on Friday where the supplementary budget was being discussed, they learned that the Government added US$500 million that were not included in the budget and will be approved by the majority of the ruling party in both chambers.
“The population is unaware that in this year’s budget alone, Luis Abinader’s administration will borrow US$9 billion, which are contained in 50 loans contemplated to partially support the nation’s budget in 2024,” explained the legislator, a member of the commission studying the piece.
He said that the Abinader Government is using the Penal Code issue very well so that people forget about the serious social and security problems that affect them.
Crespo emphasized that unlike previous governments that took out loans to carry out important works such as the Santo Domingo Metro, elevated highways and other infrastructure, today debts are taken on to pay off other debts.
He explained that at last Tuesday’s session, loan agreement No. 9473-DO, signed on October 25, 2023, with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), for US$200,000,000.00, was approved.
According to the Government, these funds would be used to finance the Dominican Republic’s Emergency Response and Resilience Project.
On Wednesday of this week, loan agreement No. 9620-DO, signed on March 21, 2024, with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), for an amount of USD$190,000,000.00, was also endorsed.
The funds would be used to finance the Program to Support the Strengthening of the National Health System. That day, the contract with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was also approved, for an amount of US$95,000,000.00 to be used to finance the Program to Finance Sustainable Investments and Improve Productivity in the Agricultural Sector.
A note
The complementary
Last Wednesday, the Senate declared an urgent budget and approved in two consecutive sessions the complementary budget for an amount of RD$35,360,004,423, which includes new estimates of the Central Government’s income for the 2024 budget year. The initiative modifies Law No. 80-23 of the General State Budget.
