government

Economic data going unpublished

The government is lagging behind in releasing reports about key economic indicators.

It has not released data concerning the amount of money in a development fund for about a year.

It is unclear what impact the global economic crisis has had on the government's Development Trust Fund, which is one of the major sources of funding for social programs in the country.

The last report on the fund was published on the web site of the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the first quarter of 2008. This report, then, does not reflect the impact that the international financial crisis has had on the fund's assets. Previously, these reports were published quarterly, but last year they stopped being updated.

The government is also behind in posting tax information as well as statistics that reflect the level of inflation.

The web site of the Directorate General of Income, which collects taxes, has not been updated in six months. The latest preliminary report of tax revenue available is from June 2008.

And the latest report of the basic food basket is from October 2008. The government should have posted the statistics from November, but they are not yet available. This report is considered a key to determining inflation rates in the country, since it evaluates how much a family has to pay for basic items.

In 2008, there were also delays in the publication of quarterly economic reports, a situation that was remedied when it was brought to light by the media.

The government is also supposed to publish a study on the impact of the Alternative Calculation of Income Tax program. Business associations have been asking about this report since 2007, and government officials announced that it would be published sometime in 2008, but that never happened.

The economic reports are considered a key component to transparency within the government.

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