The generous subsidy that the government provides for propane gas users in every walk of life, which costs the government a whopping RD$200 million a week, will be partially maintained until January, according to Industry & Commerce Minister Francisco Javier Garcia. While assistance for household use of the fuel will be kept intact, the ministry is expected on Monday to announce a series of measures to gradually remove the subsidy from the areas of transportation and industry. Javier Garcia spoke frankly to the reporters from El Caribe, saying that RD$200 million a week is “unsustainable” for this or any government. He repeated the mantra that the real cost of a gallon of propane gas is RD$62, while the public acquires the gas at RD$25 a gallon. According to the minister, the cabinet for social affairs headed by Vice-President Rafael Alburquerque will be in charge of directing the subsidy to those who need it most, with the goal of saving the government 80% of the nearly RD$10 billion a year that is currently being spent on propane subsidies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The generous subsidy that the government provides for propane gas users in every walk of life, which costs the government a whopping RD$200 million a week, will be partially maintained until January, according to Industry & Commerce Minister Francisco Javier Garcia. While assistance for household use of the fuel will be kept intact, the ministry … <\/p>\n