NewsWhore
09-21-2009, 04:00 PM
Minister of Economy, Planning and Development Temistocles Montas says that the government would not be eliminating the electricity subsidy just yet. The subsidy compensates for power distribution companies ineffectiveness at collecting for power delivered.
Speaking in Santiago, the official said that the government has designed a plan for improving collections and the functioning of the distributors with the objective of preventing the collapse of the electricity system.
"The government still cannot remove the subsidy to the electric sector, because if we remove the subsidy the system will fail", said Montas, when he was asked about it with reference to the concern expressed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that the subsidy was unsustainable.
According to Diario Libre, figures from the Superintendence of Electricity indicate the monthly subsidy on the electricity bill that the government provides is currently around RD$223.25 million.
Likewise, Montas reported that the government would receive the rough draft of the letter of intention for the agreement with the IMF for further revision early this week (today or tomorrow).
"We will go over the rough draft with President Leonel Fernandez and if there is no objection, we will proceed to notify the IMF so that the board of directors can deal with it in October", said Montas.
The official made it clear that the IMF has not expressed much concern about excessive government spending, but was worried about falling revenue levels.
He added that the IMF understands that in order to get the economy going the government needs to spend more, but it cannot do so because its income has fallen off.
Last weekend, an IMF mission ended its talks leading up to the letter of intent for the Stand-by arrangement that is set to last for several years, warning that there are problems in the country that need addressing, especially in the energy sector.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Speaking in Santiago, the official said that the government has designed a plan for improving collections and the functioning of the distributors with the objective of preventing the collapse of the electricity system.
"The government still cannot remove the subsidy to the electric sector, because if we remove the subsidy the system will fail", said Montas, when he was asked about it with reference to the concern expressed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that the subsidy was unsustainable.
According to Diario Libre, figures from the Superintendence of Electricity indicate the monthly subsidy on the electricity bill that the government provides is currently around RD$223.25 million.
Likewise, Montas reported that the government would receive the rough draft of the letter of intention for the agreement with the IMF for further revision early this week (today or tomorrow).
"We will go over the rough draft with President Leonel Fernandez and if there is no objection, we will proceed to notify the IMF so that the board of directors can deal with it in October", said Montas.
The official made it clear that the IMF has not expressed much concern about excessive government spending, but was worried about falling revenue levels.
He added that the IMF understands that in order to get the economy going the government needs to spend more, but it cannot do so because its income has fallen off.
Last weekend, an IMF mission ended its talks leading up to the letter of intent for the Stand-by arrangement that is set to last for several years, warning that there are problems in the country that need addressing, especially in the energy sector.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)