Santo Domingo. - The grass roots civic movement TOYJARTO (I’m fed up)but believe in my Country on Thursday hailed the austerity measures announced by president Danilo Medina to curb waste in government spending.

TOYJARTO said though the measures don’t have a quantitative influence on government spending, do send the right signal to all civil servants to assume their role with austerity and efficiency in managing taxpayers money.

 "A review of contracts, cutting the bloated public payroll and the ballooned cost of works, among others, are points that exert real influence on spending," said group spokeswoman Elizabeth Mateo.

 She urged president Danilo Medina to have the strength which in her view his predecessor Leonel Fernandez didn’t have, to severely punish those who violate those measures and an allegedly evident weakness when it comes to his closest friends.

"We want to remind the President that according to (the late) Professor Juan Bosch’s doctrine the presidential figure has neither friends enemies, relatives nor close associates, when it comes to breaking the law or corruption, all are equal in compliance with the law, " the TOYJARTO executive said.