Dominican industrialists want Fernandez to adopt tough measures

The country’s industrialists expect president Leonel Fernandez to announce, in his speech to the nation, emergency measures that have a vision to face the future challenges in 2009.

The Herrera Industrial Association and the Industrial Federation (FAI) say this emergency program must have three fundamental platforms based on offering immediate solutions to the high cost of living, citizen insecurity and the electrical crisis.

For the presidents of the Herrera industrialists, Manuel Cabrera, and of the FAI Ignacio Méndez, the chief executive must adopt measures to recover the citizens’ confidence. “We need to recover the confidence that the President had awakened some time ago."

Méndez suggests stimulating an increase in production, especially agriculture and industries, for which the Government shouldn’t compete with industrialists for the credit available.
They also agree with the Central Bank’s plan to begin lowering the interest rate starting February, but cautioned that this will happen only if waste in government is curtailed.

They said this implies an elimination of unnecessary posts created in the government and a redesign of the policy on subsidies, to eliminate those that are irrational.