Conep believes that conditions must be created to further boost housing construction, with the aim of closing the housing deficit gap.
SANTO DOMINGO.– The National Council of Private Enterprise (Conep) believes that conditions must be created to further boost housing construction, with the goal of closing the housing deficit gap.
Yesterday, the business organization delivered to the country's political, economic, and social leadership the strategic proposals of the Tenth Business Convention, in which they commit to raising gross capital investment to US$30 billion in the next four years and creating 500,000 new jobs.
In the document, the business sector states that infrastructure construction should be promoted through an effective mode of private investment and that the efficiency of public investment should be encouraged.
“It is necessary to continue working to establish clear, timely and transparent regulatory frameworks that allow for the simplification of procedures and public services, as well as the improvement in the quality of regulations, reducing time and costs for citizens and businesses,” declared the president of Conep, Celso Juan Marranzini.
He highlighted that by 2024, the projection for private investment will be over US$30 billion, "and we aspire for its annual growth to be higher than that of GDP," the business representative stated.
In his address, he emphasized the progress and growth the country has achieved, despite the uncertain international landscape. He pointed out some challenges that, in his view, deserve priority attention from society, such as improving the quality of education, strengthening social security, and improving the electricity sector.
The president of CONEP emphasized that, despite internal and external challenges, the private sector contributes to improving the living conditions of more Dominicans each year. An example of this is its contribution of 85% to GDP and 89% to total investments, according to the Central Bank in 2021.
In their address, which was attended by President Luis Abinader, the business leaders recommended looking beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and adopting new metrics that allow progress to be measured in terms of quality of life.
For his part, Abinader acknowledged the importance of intersectoral dialogue with the aim of promoting sustainable economic growth for the benefit of the country.
“We must promote dialogue, not only with the private sector, but also with political parties. I believe we have differences in approach, but we share the same goal, which is to have a better Dominican Republic,” the president commented.
Key areas of proposals
The Tenth Business Convention focused on two strategic axes: Productive Development and Human Development.
The first is to continue promoting equitable and sustainable economic growth, and the second is to improve the quality of life of the population.
The proposals presented focused on key areas such as employment and social security, education, health, housing and infrastructure, investment and diversification, productivity and competitiveness, the electricity sector and taxation.
The executive vice president of Conep, César Dargam, explained that the conclusions are the result of a broad and representative consultation process that began six months ago at the national level, and included regional meetings in the southern, eastern and northern areas of the country.
Dargam said that economic growth becomes the means to achieve the goal of collective well-being, and everyone has a role to play.
Efficiency improvements to the electricity distribution companies (EDEs)
The president of Conep asserted that the electricity sector is essential for the country's development, and therefore advocated for the efficiency of the companies that supply this service.
“It is imperative to implement, without further delay, the actions required to make the distributors more efficient in order to guarantee the financial viability of the sector and to be able to reallocate those budget resources that are currently used to cover the deficit,” he said.
Marranzini highlighted that the National Development Strategy stipulated the need to address the fiscal issue through a long-term pact.
“Given the current global economic uncertainty, we believe it is essential to continue promoting a pro-growth agenda that fosters more investment, jobs, and greater formalization of the economy; that guarantees efficient, transparent, and higher-quality public spending, as well as a consolidated public debt profile that strengthens the sustainability of public finances,” he said.
