The International Monetary Fund has warned the Dominican government that it has to move forward with a program designed to greatly reduce the subsidy paid for provision of electricity to the poorer barrios of the major cities, especially Santo Domingo. At the same time, the IMF praises the efforts the authorities are making with regards to the weak electricity sector. Among these measures, the IMF praised the hiring of outside administrators for the electricity distributors (the EDEs) in an effort to increase the cash flow and push forward the needed reforms. The statements were made by Agustin Carstens, acting president of the IMF board of directors, as he commented on the IMF agreement review. He also praised the country’s economic growth, and advised the Central Bank to continue improving its management of the monetary policy.