Santo Domingo.- The National Business Council (Conep) said it’s willing to accept the sacrifices needed to ensure Dominican Republic’s stability, growth and sustainable development, proposing rational government spending, and in the short term urgently solve the shortcomings in public finances it called delicate.

"Our proposal is supported by a thorough analysis of the evolution of public finances from the information we were given by the Dominican government through the CES (Social, Economic Council)," Conep said in its report.

It said the Government should significantly reduce current transfers to the private sector and to public agencies, advertising, incidental expenses and per diem, but supports maintaining aid for to individuals, school breakfast, fellowships and social security benefits.

As non-negotiable budget priority, the business leaders want to include the establishment of 4% of the GDP for pre-university education

The CONEP said the economy’s main problems are distortions, informality and evasion, "so we consider urgent the conclusion of a comprehensive fiscal pact and long range to help improve our levels of competitiveness."

CES and Government agree

Last Friday's meeting the CES and the government ended without reaching an agreement on the proposed government spending for 2013.

The Council asked the Government to drop its proposed budget of RD$469.4 billion, but officials say it would jeopardize economic stability.

Economy minister Temistocles Montas said the CES proposal isn’t viable because the state has inflexible expenses.