The coordinator of the Technical Budget Support Office (UTAO), Rui Baleiras, heard a report from the institution in Parliament today, which warned that the debt reduction carried out by the Socialist government in 2023 was “artificial”.
The hearings in the Commission on Budget, Finance and Public Administration (COFAP) were requested by Chega following statements by former Finance Minister Fernando Medina on the same topic in Parliament.
The report in question was published by the UTAO on April 10, in which the institution warned that the debt reduction carried out by the Socialist government in 2023 was “artificial”.
In the report, the UTAO believes that the significant increase in public debt consolidation ratios in 2023 is the result of budget surpluses and a “deliberate search for investments in securities”, indicating that this increase in investments by organic units in debt instruments will lead in some cases to “mere management options”, and there are also cases where “financial management options were conditioned by government guidelines”.
Fernando Medina was called to parliament in May to answer questions from MPs on the issue, where he said there were no guidelines for using social security funds to cover the public debt and considered the UTAO’s conclusion “false”.
Given the former minister’s statements, Chega decided to make a request to hear the UTAO and give it the opportunity to respond to the accusations.
“Given that UTAO plays a fundamental role in supporting COFAP and that its credibility, impartiality and transparency have been questioned by former Finance Minister Dr. Fernando Medina, it is urgent to hand over to UTAO Coordinator Dr. Rui Baleiras: access to the controversial in the name of preserving the image of an organization deserving of all respect and attention, for the valuable support it has provided to COFAP, despite increasingly scarce technical and human resources,” Chega said in a statement.
On the topic of debt reduction, MPs will also hear today from the former president of the Águas de Portugal group, José Furtado, and on Thursday from the president of NAV Portugal, Pedro Ángelo, and the president of Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda, Douro Moita.
These hearings were requested by CDS-PP in view of the dividends received from these public companies and their impact on the reduction of public debt, a topic that also features in the analysis carried out by UTAO.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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