Conep makes a point

[NewsWhore]

Lisandro Macarrulla, president of the National Business Council (CONEP) addressed an audience of leading economic and political figures yesterday. His speech focused on "Macro-economic policies necessary to promote the development of the productive sector: Fiscal, monetary and exchange." While the Conep spokesperson recognized the country enjoys economic stability, he criticized the weakness of government institutions that have adapted to satisfying current interests rather than attending to public necessities. Macarrulla said that there were some serious issues to think about, such as the slow development of production facilities, the reduction in the flow of tourists and the job losses for skilled factory workers, and the decline of exports. He pointed out that the export value of US$2.94 billion is equivalent to the US$805 million of three decades ago. Dominican exports have averaged US$1.53 billion over the past three years, primarily thanks to the high price of ferro-nickel on the world market. This means that exports have fallen very sharply. Macarrulla continued by saying that the state has not been capable of providing a framework of law and order in the most fundamental aspects. This weakness is seen in the lack of basic services and infrastructure. Among the more serious flaws pointed out by the CONEP leader are the lack of adequate public education, the chaos within the electricity sector, low worker productivity due to health issues, and high costs attributable to the double invoicing of health care programs and the horribly costly and inefficient system of public transport.

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