President-elect Hipolito Mejia announced that he will reduce his RD$90,000/month (around US$5,600) presidential salary by 40%. Salaries of cabinet officers and presidential staff will be similarly reduced. Earning just RD$54,000/month the president will earn less than members of congress, who are paid RD$70,000/month (around US$4,350). A cabinet minister earns RD$50,000 (around US$3,125) and a deputy minister RD$40,000 (around US$2,500). High-ranking office-holders cannot expect big salaries and big privileges in a poor country that needs to incentivize its development, he said."You must go to the state to serve. You have to make a sacrifice." Mejia told a FM radio audience during an interview. "You have a security escort, and another at your home, another paid servant, a pretty secretary, an expense account, a salary, a beeper, a cellular phone, and that’s it," he said. Mejia promised to save RD$1.2 billion (around US$75 million) by eliminating over 400 deputy-ministry posts that have been created under the Fernandez administration.
