In 2015 the country will again take on debt to finance the fiscal deficit. This is apparent when seeing the approved budget of RD$449.9 billion, with public spending approved for RD$529.3 billion, writes Hoy newspaper’s editorialist. “This is part of a vicious circle that mortgages the country’s future and puts us at the mercy of our debtors,” comments the writer.
“The country cannot continue to compromise its room for maneuver and its economic future,” writes the editorialist. “The obligations created by the debt reduce the availability of funds for public investment in human development projects. Economic growth with high debt becomes a difficult burden and does not provide welfare.
Economists Nelson Suarez and Miguel Ceara Hatton said that the Dominican Republic’s debt level has now reached 50% of the GDP.
“What we are doing is taking on debt that threatens the quality of life and the population’s future development with funds that we know have been put to dubious use, such as the case of Sun Land and other investments that have been overvalued,” said the economists. They called for an audit of how the borrowed money has been spent.