According to Franco Uccelli, who reports on the Dominican Republic for the Bear Stearns brokerage firm, there will be a two-month delay before the review of the Stand-By Agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Uccelli did say in his report that there have been important advances in terms of fiscal management. Uccelli also reports on the government’s move to create what he calls two “mega-ministries”, one of which will cover all the state’s fiscal responsibilities, including tax collection, budget execution, and the handling of the public debt. The second “mega-ministry” will be in charge of implementing a sweeping national development strategy. The new ministry will be called the Ministry of the Treasury and Finance and will include the present Finance, Planning and Development departments. It will be housed in the current Ministry of Technical Affairs.
Uccelli goes on to say that the Fernandez administration had come to an agreement with the IMF and decreed the elimination of the former practice of discretional use of surplus funds. Now the government will access just two contingency funds for needed money, such as hurricanes. Uccelli also commented on the new efforts to impose transparency in government operations and the elimination of obstacles to conclude the first phase of the IMF agreement.