World Bank says DR needs changes

[NewsWhore]

The World Bank (WB) has reaffirmed its claim that the Dominican Republic needs to make major changes in some of its institutions. The international financial institution says that the DR must strengthen the financial system in order to limit the opportunities for fraud and collusion provided by barely- transparent supervision. The bank called for the elimination of loans to partner companies as well as government interference at supervisory level. These points were part of the "Economic Memorandum of the Dominican Republic: The basis for Growth and Competitiveness" that was released yesterday during a ceremony at Santo Domingo's PUCMM university. The report also points out that growth in the Dominican GDP did not filter down to the masses. As reported in Listin Diario, the WB points out that there is a vicious circle of growth limited by poverty, and this has to be broken by investing in infrastructure, health and education as well as providing access to credit and eliminating risks. The three greatest obstacles to investment, as seen by the WB, are electricity, corruption and crime. According to Hoy newspaper, most businesses in the Dominican Republic only report about half their sales, and these "inefficiencies in collecting taxes and the poor or inadequate infrastructure create pressure for more taxes, leading to more evasion."

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