All of today?s newspapers carry front-page stories on the reaction of the National Council of Private Business (CONEP) to the measures announced by President Hipolito Mejia in his speech last Sunday evening. El Caribe reports that CONEP disapproves of the measures, accusing the President of having placed the entire burden on only one sector of the economy. In a harsh critique of the President?s speech, the president of CONEP, Elena Viyella, told reporters yesterday that the steps taken by the President ?do not go to the source of the problems.? Viyella also said that all the belt-tightening is being directed at the private sector, while the President puts aside the government?s obligations to the Pact for Stability and Economic Development, which emphasized the reduction of public spending. Viyella also predicted more business closings, higher unemployment and a decline in the Gross Domestic Product.
Viyella furthermore criticized the state?s proposal to remove money from circulation, saying that these funds will not come from government spending nor from a reduction in government payroll, but rather from the RD$600 million in new revenues the government expects to generate with the new 10-percent tax to be imposed on imported goods.
CONEP wants the President to call a meeting of the Watch Committee on the pact that was agreed to last year between the business community and the government.
As part of the pact signed in December, prior to the ratification of the US$600-million sovereign bond placement law, the government agreed not to create any new taxes and assured that custom tariff and fiscal reforms would be decided upon in conjunction with the business sectors.