The Catalan Government assures it has enough money to pay salaries

Barcelona (ACN).- The Catalan Government needs cash. It is not a secret. The Government itself published its budget figures. In addition, with the Government change resulting from November’s Catalan Elections, the new Cabinet emphasised the “delicate” situation regarding cash. Adding to the debate, for his part, Oriol Pujol, a leading member of the Government’s party who is also the chairman of the party’s group in the Catalan Parliament said this morning that the situation is “dramatic” and that the Government has “practically no money to pay the salaries” of public workers. However, the Catalan Government’s spokesperson Francesc Homs responded quickly emphasising that “public workers would not have to worry”. Homs stressed that the situation was “delicate” and that, “if the Government did not do what it is required to do […], the situation could be more limited”. However, Homs emphasised that the Government will get cash and he recalled how Catalonia is waiting for authorisation from the Spanish Goverment to issue more debt, after the commitment to reduce its deficit to 1.3% for 2011.

The Catalan Government was obliged today to calm down speculation about its financial situation, clarifying that it had enough money to pay salaries. The surprising statement was made by the Government’s spokesperson. He was answering to a previous statement made by his party colleague Oriol Pujol. Pujol is the chairman of the party’s group in the Catalan Parliament, in charge of pushing for legislative action and coordinating the MPs of Convergència i Unió, the ruling Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition. In a radio interview, Pujol said that the financial situation of the Government was “dramatic” and that it “practically had no money to pay the salaries” of the public employees. Francesc Homs stressed that Pujol “did not say the Government has no money at all”, “he just said the situation is dramatic”.

Homs assured that the Government has enough money and that “public workers do not need to worry”. Homs emphasised that the Government will take all the actions it has to do to improve the situation and increase its cash. These operations include the already presented austerity plan to reduce the deficit and set it at 1.3% for 2011. They also include selling assets and getting new credits, like all governments do. The only difference here is that the Catalan Government is waiting for the Spanish Government’s green light, after having already presented the Catalan austerity plan that includes this significant deficit reduction.