Rosario finds MOP8.6b budget challenging to implement

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário revealed to media representatives last Friday, after a meeting with a Legislative Assembly (AL)
sub-committee, that it would be challenging to fully implement his secretariat’s allocated 2016 budget.
A chunk of the government’s expected expenditure for prospective investment, known as PIDDA, will be in the hands of the secretariat, and will amount to MOP8.6 billion out of the total MOP11.07 billion.
Following financial authorities’ realization at last week’s legislative assembly that the secretary has emphasized the downsizing of the budget for investment purposes, Rosario explained to media representatives that his 3400-strong force was incapable of meeting the target.
He said that his cabinet’s competence was reflected in the low execution rate of the projects in the previous years, which in general hovers around half the scale of 100 percent. Rosario said he wished to be more “down-to-earth” with a more achievable budget.
“It’s like having a buffet. Are you able to handle a dishful of food? It looks nice with a 10 or 20 billion pataca budget, yet we failed to work it out over the past few years, and it’s the same for next year,” the official said, adding that the budget issue boiled down to capability rather than willingness.