The director of the National Planning Office, Rafael Camilo said that the Dominican Republic needs to change its image of an island destroyed by Hurricane Georges in order not to affect the foreign investment that comes to the DR. He said that the investment needed for the construction and reconstruction of bridges, highways and houses destroyed by the hurricane will not affect the year’s expenditures because most of the funds for the reconstruction will come from international organizations. He said that the only economic sector that was significantly affected by the hurricane was farming. He said that most of the national productive structure was not affected by the hurricane. The director of the National Planning Office said that the Dominican economy will show a growth of approximately 6% in 1998, the highest growth rate of all Latin American economies. The average for the region is forecast to be 3% in 1998. He said that originally the government had forecast a 7.5% growth rate, but has now revised its estimate following Hurricane Georges. He said that the hurricane has primarily affected the farming sector with damages to crops and forestry estimated at RD$6,700 million. Tourism, free zones and financial sectors were not significantly affected. The National Budget will need to be reformulated and cuts of 10% made as a result of the decline in government income due to Hurricane Georges, said Camilo. The 1999 budget originally had been estimated at RD$40,000 million.
