If you read through the inaugural 2004 speech of Fernandez, and read the Austerity Law that went into effect in January 2007 and the Power Contingency Plan proposed in fall by the Ministry of Industry of Commerce, lots of the same is included in the 17 July speech. This would be their 4th try at cutting superfluous spending of taxpayer hard-earned money.
I wonder if with a proposal in the 17 July speech to cut only 25% of the wasteful government propaganda, the government is really giving an indication it acknowledges it is spending too much.
Anyone curious, can check these briefs we published on 17 August 2004, and 27 December 2006 to get an idea of what was said and not implemented back then, and much of which is again being proposed.
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DR1. 17 August 2004.
Fernandez promises austerity
President Leonel Fernandez, only the second Dominican to return to the presidency by democratic elections, vowed to reduce government expenses by “at least 20%” in his inaugural speech yesterday. He said government funds would not be allotted to purchase “jeepetas,” nor for unlimited mobile phone calls. He also said there would be many less deputy ministers in this government. Fernandez in his previous administration created numerous new deputy minister posts. He also said he would send Congress a law to limit consular earnings to their wages, but did not explain whether he would implement this measure administratively before the law was ratified.
Fernandez said his government would resume the agreement with the IMF and would confront the quasi-fiscal debt of RD$90 billion by using the deposits to be made in the Banco de Reservas and Central Bank by national and international companies that will make future investments in the country. He said he would honor previous commitments made on the certificates of deposit in the Central Bank, and those with the international capital markets bondholders.
Fernandez said he would not be a flag bearer for the “let’s move on and forget past tradition” in Dominican politics, leaving the courts to hear the cases of corruption.
He announced the introduction of emergency programs for low-cost food, pharmaceuticals and the public hospital system, as well as a bolstering of the school breakfast program.
He said his government would use a US$50-million line of credit to pay for fuel to immediately resolve the long blackouts.
He highlighted that his government’s top priority would be education, and promised to launch computer literacy programs in elementary public schools, bilingual education and community colleges.
He stressed the importance of strengthening of the nation’s institutions, so as to move ahead politically from the charismatic leadership of legendary Dominican politicians such as Bosch, Balaguer and Pena Gomez.
On the international front, he stressed that he would adhere to United Nations and Organization of American States guidelines for the promotion of peace, and would strengthen links with Asian, African and American nations, with special attention to Haiti.
He issued a challenge for Dominicans to adopt a new national slogan of “Dominicano, e pa’lante que vamos!”
To read the complete speech, see
http://dr1.com/news/2004/081704_fernandez.pdf
DR1. 27 December 2006.
Senate passes austerity bill
The Dominican Senate has passed a bill that will limit salaries, reduce perks for officials and limit the size of automobiles as well as put a freeze on hiring. These cuts, nevertheless, would be deemed unnecessary if as expected, government revenues increase. Meanwhile, the bill establishes that official vehicles, with license plates beginning with O, cannot be used on weekends and holidays, unless the person assigned the vehicle is on official business. Most government-financed vehicles do not begin with O. It was noteworthy that the senators did not go all out with the President's proposals, and they eliminated one of the suggested measures in a very self-serving manner. The President had requested that the two-vehicle unrestricted duty-free import clause that benefits legislators be reduced to just one vehicle, but the senators removed that clause. According to Diario Libre, many salaries will be reduced by 10% or 15%.
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A fourth try at austerity?
