Deputies approve extraordinary loan for $ 400.8 million; $36.8 million allocated to the Assembly
The Budget Commission of the National Assembly approved an extraordinary credit to the general budget of the State for the year 2021, for nearly $ 400.8 million.
Of that amount, $ 36.8 million will be allocated to the Assembly, to "reinforce other expenses."
The credit was supported by the Vice Minister of Finance, Jorge Almengor, on August 31, but little has transpired about that fact until now, since it was not transmitted nor was it on the agenda that Public Relations of the Assembly shares with journalists.
When the Assembly tweeted about the matter, at no time did it report that of what Almengor sustained, $ 36.8 million corresponded to the Legislative's expenses.
The independent deputy Edison Broce , a member of the Budget Commission, was not aware of that approval either, since it occurred at a time when he was in the legislative plenary session, to attend a summons from Ramón Martínez, Minister of Commerce.
According to Broce, the approval of the millionaire loan occurred "in a matter of minutes" and was not on the budget committee's agenda either.
“I was there all day, except for a few minutes when I went to the plenary session to question the MICI minister on mining ... In those minutes that I went from the Commission to the plenary session, they altered the agenda and approved an extraordinary credit for $ 400 million that was not scheduled, ”Broce wrote on his Twitter account.
Broce said that he has not received a record on that approval. "I don't even know if they had the votes," he told La Prensa.
"The media are not there and the country is at the mercy of the little that is reported," he added.
Journalists and the public cannot enter the room where the Budget Commission meets, chaired by PRD Raúl Pineda , unless they show a negative swab test. The sessions are broadcast by the Assembly's television channel, until the legislative plenary session begins, as happened on August 31, when Vice Minister Almengor appeared.
The additional credit was previously approved by the Cabinet Council, supposedly to attend pandemic expenses and the environmental emergency of two hurricanes, in November 2020. The item destined to the Assembly is to face “other expenses”, but it is not specified which are. At the end of 2020, the Cabinet also approved a loan to the Assembly, for $ 22.8 million, which was used to pay payroll.
The details of the additional credit, with the amounts that each institution will receive, are consigned in Cabinet Resolution 96 of August 26, 2021, published in Official Gazette 29364. This document, which bears the signature of President Laurentino Cortizo and all his ministers, authorizes the head of Economy and Finance, Héctor Alexánder, to submit the loan for consideration to the Assembly's Budget Committee, a body chaired by PRD deputy Benicio Robinson.
The credit was supported by the Vice Minister of Finance, Jorge Almengor, on August 31, but little has transpired about that fact until now, since it was not transmitted nor was it on the agenda that Public Relations of the Assembly shares with journalists.
When the Assembly tweeted about the matter, at no time did it report that of what Almengor sustained, $ 36.8 million corresponded to the Legislative's expenses.
The independent deputy Edison Broce , a member of the Budget Commission, was not aware of that approval either, since it occurred at a time when he was in the legislative plenary session, to attend a summons from Ramón Martínez, Minister of Commerce.
According to Broce, the approval of the millionaire loan occurred "in a matter of minutes" and was not on the budget committee's agenda either.
“I was there all day, except for a few minutes when I went to the plenary session to question the MICI minister on mining ... In those minutes that I went from the Commission to the plenary session, they altered the agenda and approved an extraordinary credit for $ 400 million that was not scheduled, ”Broce wrote on his Twitter account.
Broce said that he has not received a record on that approval. "I don't even know if they had the votes," he told La Prensa.
"The media are not there and the country is at the mercy of the little that is reported," he added.
Journalists and the public cannot enter the room where the Budget Commission meets, chaired by PRD Raúl Pineda , unless they show a negative swab test. The sessions are broadcast by the Assembly's television channel, until the legislative plenary session begins, as happened on August 31, when Vice Minister Almengor appeared.
The additional credit was previously approved by the Cabinet Council, supposedly to attend pandemic expenses and the environmental emergency of two hurricanes, in November 2020. The item destined to the Assembly is to face “other expenses”, but it is not specified which are. At the end of 2020, the Cabinet also approved a loan to the Assembly, for $ 22.8 million, which was used to pay payroll.
The details of the additional credit, with the amounts that each institution will receive, are consigned in Cabinet Resolution 96 of August 26, 2021, published in Official Gazette 29364. This document, which bears the signature of President Laurentino Cortizo and all his ministers, authorizes the head of Economy and Finance, Héctor Alexánder, to submit the loan for consideration to the Assembly's Budget Committee, a body chaired by PRD deputy Benicio Robinson.