According to local IMF representative Ousmene Jacques Mandeng, the current team visiting the Dominican Republic is worried that the prospects for economic growth are a possibility only if the structural changes suggested in the tax reform proposals are adopted. The team praised the country’s advances in controlling inflation, but at the same time has expressed interest in the fact that the Congress needs to pass the tax package and integrate the proposals into the 2006 budget legislation. According to Diario Libre, Mandeng said that the IMF team would be meeting congressional leaders this next week to encourage passing of the tax legislations as well as other proposals. For the IMF inspection group, the Dominican Republic has taken very positive steps in the areas of banking supervision and regulation, and Mandeng said that he felt that this was the sector that had made the most progress under the IMF Stand-By agreement.