NewsWhore
11-10-2011, 01:30 PM
Minister for Economy, Planning and Development Temistocles Montas said yesterday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pressuring the government to increase electricity bills by 18% as part of the Stand-by Arrangement signed in 2009. The agreement would provide US$1.7 billion for the Dominican economy.
Montas said that they were discussing this issue with the IMF since it presents some problems for the PLD administration. He said that while the country has some difficulties with the IMF, the Stand-by Arrangement is still in place as witnessed by the placement of US$250 million in sovereign bonds on the market. He said: "If there were difficulties with the IMF the bonds would not have been successfully placed," when he was interviewed in the National Palace.
The Fernandez administration has been reticent to cut its own spending. The World Economic Forum ranked the government as tops in wasteful spending in its most recent Global Competitiveness Report. For years now, the government has ordered rate increases to those who pay for the power service instead of billing more customers and cutting its own wasteful spending. Millions of poor in the DR pay fixed power rates or are not billed for the service, and changing this situation is seen as politically sensitive. Despite denials of a power rate increase, consumers noticed that their monthly bills increased considerably this month. The reason, the power distributors extended the billing period to include an additional five days. Admitting this in a paid advertisement, the CDEEE said this occurred to better restructure the billing sectors.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)
Montas said that they were discussing this issue with the IMF since it presents some problems for the PLD administration. He said that while the country has some difficulties with the IMF, the Stand-by Arrangement is still in place as witnessed by the placement of US$250 million in sovereign bonds on the market. He said: "If there were difficulties with the IMF the bonds would not have been successfully placed," when he was interviewed in the National Palace.
The Fernandez administration has been reticent to cut its own spending. The World Economic Forum ranked the government as tops in wasteful spending in its most recent Global Competitiveness Report. For years now, the government has ordered rate increases to those who pay for the power service instead of billing more customers and cutting its own wasteful spending. Millions of poor in the DR pay fixed power rates or are not billed for the service, and changing this situation is seen as politically sensitive. Despite denials of a power rate increase, consumers noticed that their monthly bills increased considerably this month. The reason, the power distributors extended the billing period to include an additional five days. Admitting this in a paid advertisement, the CDEEE said this occurred to better restructure the billing sectors.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)