Asunción, IP Agency.- Minister Carlos Fernández emphasized that the government’s priority is to generate economic development and improve the quality of life, for which the private sector plays an important role.
Fernández expressed that the procedures performed by the public institutions must be transparent when they execute their Budget to be more efficient and improve the quality of the public expense.
“It must be practised transparent procedures, so the Budget is properly managed. This is a matter of spending transparently, better and honestly”, stated Minister Fernández Valdovinos last night during an interview in the TV Show “En Detalles”, issued by ABC TV.
He added that there must be revised social programs, such as “Tekoporã”, to help this assistance reach vulnerable people. He also stated that this administration decided that the elderly have priority when getting their payment benefits. “From August, elderly are getting their payments before anyone else”, claimed.
Regarding the General Budget of the Nation 2024 (PGN), he indicated that when constructing the Budget, they encountered two issues, which were rigidity and the little time they had to work on it and try to redirect some of the expenses towards priority sectors which are health, education, security and protection of the most vulnerable sectors.
“An effort has been made on this matter. Once we solved the debt, it was left to us. For next year, we increased the Budget by USD 25 million for medicines, so next year, it is contemplated to have USD 300 million annually for new medicines. Before this, the Budget for health was only to cover debts”, said Minister Fernández Valdovinos.
Regarding education, he said they would commit to the teaching sector but that there is no use in having teachers well-paid if the students are facing hunger. That is why the annual Budget for 2024 has reinforced the school snack, not only for the Ministry of Education but for governorates too”, stated Valdovinos.
Minister Carlos Fernández emphasized that the Ministry of Economy will provide those funds to the Ministry of Education and the governorates but that the execution will be in charge of these institutions, which must be made transparently. “It is unacceptable that we have places where the school snack worth is G. 7.500, in other places is G. 12.000 and in another, G. 15.000. It is not a matter of logistics. It is about the execution, and we will have to be very careful about this”, he said.
Lastly, about the war between Russia and Ukraine, Fernández Valdovinos claimed that the country is ready to face new external issues. “The role of the private sector is going to be very important, and the engine of the economic and social development is going to be Itaipú, so we must use it intelligently, finalized the Minister of Economy and Finances.