2023-12-14 07:24:00
On the agenda: consultocracy in the Brussels administration and the Brussels budget.
On Wednesday, La Libre, l’Avenir and La Derniere Heure revealed data from the openbudgets.brussels site, showing that more than 100 million euros had been spent in the Brussels Region in five years for consultancy costs. The Committed quickly demanded “absolute transparency”.
“There is clearly a much greater use of consultancy in Brussels than in other regions,” notes the Brussels MP. “This reflects a lack of political confidence in his administration.”
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“Obviously, this government, by resorting so much to consultancy and by having bloated ministerial offices, is permanently bypassing the administration,” he continues. “There is a problem with this government, that of not counting on its administration.”
“We have been sounding the alarm since last year,” explains Christophe De Beukelaer. “We had already done this work. We had asked all the ministers what the consultancy costs were in their department and we had already noted this excess.” At the time, the Engagés had not received a response to their alarm signal. “Today, I am happy to see that the journalists are doing their job and confirming our analysis from last year.”
However, for the Brussels MP, the 107 million euros is an underestimate: “Not all administrations are obliged to put their figures on openbudgets”. “We must continue this work of transparency,” he recalls. This Thursday followingnoon, a plenary session devoted to the budget will take place. The president of Engagés Bruxelles announces that he will ask questions relating to this consultocracy.
“We must reform the Brussels administration,” he continues. According to the MP, there are too many inconsistencies between the different institutions. He therefore wants to make it more impactful and “essential in the Belgian political-administrative system”.
Then, Maxime Binet and his Alex Reed returned to the question of the Brussels budget. According to the president of Engagés Bruxelles, “irresponsible” is the word that best describes the budget. “The government has capitulated in the face of the challenges of the people of Brussels,” he explains. “He is asking, today, in his budget, to make linear cuts,” he continues. “He promised balance in 2024, we will have more than a billion euros in additional debt.” To reduce the debt, we would have to “make political choices”. “If we continue like this, we are heading towards the bankruptcy of the Brussels Region.”
The budget will be voted on this followingnoon in the Brussels parliament. The Committed have already announced that they do not intend to vote for it.
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