In his address to the nation Sunday evening, President Hipolito Mejia asked citizens to again tighten their belts, and announced a temporary 10-percent additional surcharge on all imported items, with the exception of raw materials, capital goods, medicines, and food products. The additional surcharge is expected to be enforced for the next three months. Mejia also said the government would absorb any future increases in petroleum, so as to avoid driving the cost of propane gas cost beyond its present record level of RD$584.33 per 100 lb.-tank. In keeping with this plan, the government would maintain the cost of OMSA public buses at present levels.
People on the street are pleased that the government will absorb the increases in propane gas and transport, nevertheless the business community says the measures do not address the real problems.
President Mejia has not heeded the recommendations of economists to order cuts in the excessive number of public employees. Instead, he announced a freeze on government perks and benefits, such as in the case of vehicles purchased for government employees. Other such measures include the curtailing of government advertising, cutbacks to the use of air-conditioning in government offices, and less government employee travel.
Also announced is the government?s plan to remove RD$300 million from circulation, reduce its spending by RD$100 million per month, as agreed with the business community, and to bolster the reserves of the Central Bank with US$150 million of the recent US$600-million sovereign bond placement. By the same token, Mejia said the government would be making a US$135-million payment on its foreign currency debt with local commercial banks. He also mentioned the availability of US$315 million to pay the nation?s foreign debt and the expected US$250-million loan with the World Bank in May to make payments on renegotiated contracts with the private electricity companies.