The Dominican government chose to go ahead with the issuing of the first Dominican sovereign bonds. Advocates of the bond say it will give the government the resources to reactivate the economy and carry out construction projects. The government appointed economist Andres Dauhajre to head the Unidad del Programa de Mediano Plazo de Financiamiento Externo, which will direct this program. Other members of the unit are the Technical Secretary of the Presidency and the Governor of the Central Bank. Those that oppose the bonds do so on grounds that all the talk of the present administration to discredit the country’s growth in the past will result in having to place discounted bonds on the market. Likewise, the use of the funds generated by the bonds is being questioned. The government has full discretionary use of the funds. Sectors criticize that so far the government has used funds generated by the new taxes to hire additional public employees to pay back political favors.
