Ministries have around ¢250 billion ($467 million) in free surplus or idle resources that were once asked for different projects that never started.
The ministry with the highest overall surplus is the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT), followed by the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) and the Ministry of Labor.
The Act for General Funds aims to putting that money to good use and it might be approved on June, 16th, after the second reading.
According to José Francisco Pacheco, Deputy Minister of Expenditure, the current total surplus amounts to ¢749 billion, but only one-third is idle. This represents 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
If the Act is approved, it remains to be seen if the Finance Ministry can regulate the norm and make adjustments to the National Budget before September, 1st.
Two of the alternatives being studied is for the ministries to use these funds in order to reduce 2017’s general budget or to allocate it to contain the increasing public debt.