WASHINGTON.- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Dominican Government yesterday agreed to bolster the efforts to obtain revenues, contain the electricity subsidy and curtail other expenses.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Murilo Portugal said additional efforts will be made to obtain the gradual consolidation and maintain the program’s expected growth in the internal demand in a sustainable path.

He said the authorities will sign a letter of intent in the next few weeks that will be presented to the IMF Executive Directory for its consideration.

Portugal, speaking after meeting with Central banker Héctor Valdez Albizu and the ministers of the Treasury Vicente Bengoa, and of the Economy Temístocles Montas, said the agreement included policies and measures for the rest of this year and 2011, to reach the program’s objectives, supported by the Stand By agreement with the IMF.

On August 20 the IMF had warned that the Dominican Republic’s authorities had delayed the application of the strategy to improve tax collections, while the electrical reform hadn’t produced savings for the government. The warning came in the wake of the second and third revision in the Stand-By agreement conducted by the IMF delegation from August 3 to 19  and which had stated that the program’s first stage concluded in June with positive results.

The IMF executive also revealed that the program’s second phase began in July and foresees a gradual fiscal consolidation process and restrictive policies to maintain the sustainable growth in the internal demand.

According to the IMF the real Gross Domestic Product recovered quickly and led to the economy’s 7.5% growth in the first half, while the overall inflation remained below the Central Bank goal of six to seven percent.