According to Primicias website, most of the arrears correspond to salaries for public employees.
The report states that 77% of the payments are in the payrolls of the Ministry of Health, Education, Government and Defense.
Incidentally, representatives of medical unions warned about the existing shortage in the country’s hospitals, while the Government confirmed the payment of USD$273 million corresponding to foreign debt bonds.
The President of the Medical Association of Pichincha, Carlos Cardenas, demanded President Daniel Noboa to keep his word regarding the supply of health institutions.
The leader of the Ecuadorian Medical Federation, Wilson Tenorio, warned that there is a decrease in the budget allocated to health sector and pointed out that this year 2024 “they cut more than USD$608 million”.
In a press conference, the health professionals pointed out that there was a meeting two months ago with Health Minister Franklin Encalada; however, they have not received an answer, and therefore they are demanding an appointment with the president.
In the midst of the fiscal deficit Ecuador is going through, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Juan Carlos Vega, informed about the payment of foreign debt bonds that were restructured in 2020.
The Ministry explained that the State has expenses higher than income by more than USD$5,5 billion, ” wich must be covered, mainly, with external financing” and in order to keep international credit sources open “it is essential to be up to date with payments”.
Ecuador’s liquidity situation is so serious that only teachers, professors, police and military have received their salaries for the month of January, the rest of the public employees have their salaries pending.
abo/rgh/nta
