The Development Council of the Mejía Government agreed on a RD$65,177 million government budget for 2001. The budget will be sent to Congress for approval next week. In practice, the Budget is used as reference, as the actual use of funds by the Dominican government is determined by the judgement of the Presidency. According to the budget 33% of the resources will go to capital expenditures, 67% to current expenditures. 46.7% of the RD$65,177 million would fund social services, up from 44.5% last year. President Mejía said that the 2001 budget depends on the passing of the tax bills pending in Congress. The government also announced that the Christmas 13th salary would be paid to government workers on 10 December. This is expected to give a boost to the economy, which has somewhat stagnated.
