The governor of the Central Bank (BCRD), Héctor Valdez Albizu, responded to the statements made by former president Leonel Fernández, about whether the economic growth of the Dominican Republic has been real after the covid-19 pandemic.
Former President Fernandez, during an address last Monday to analyze and respond to the speech delivered by President Luis Abinader on the occasion of his first year in office, stated that the economic growth has been only 0.3% and not 13.3% as reported by the Central Bank.
During a press conference, Valdez clarified that when comparing the performance of economic activity with January-June 2021 with the same period of 2019, the level of economic activity has grown by 3%, that is, ten times more than the 0.3% indicated by the former president, “which is a real feat” in the face of a health crisis.
“The Central Bank maintains a process of continuous updating and improvement of statistics, whose publication is under our responsibility, remaining at the forefront and always following the latest provisions in force in the matter”, he reaffirmed.
The governor specified that the CB presents results rigorously applied to the established guidelines. He also pointed out that through these results they have received the validation and recognition of competent organizations in the region.
He also stated that the economy has surpassed the growth expectations of the gross domestic product (GDP) increase, in real terms of 13.3%.
In this regard, the Governor emphasized that the Dominican Republic has been one of the few countries in the region that has registered significant growth so far this year, despite the fact that the country is still feeling the effects of the pandemic.
