Ecuador reduces the salary of high officials
President Lenin Moreno reported that the monthly profit will be reduced by 50% in order to combat the economic consequences of the current situation
The President of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, announced a 50% reduction in the salary of senior officials to “mitigate” the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, which adds up to 7,500 cases in the South American country and more than 330 deaths.
Moreno highlighted the measure on his Twitter account, from which he indicated that it affects “all the functions of the State”, from the Government to the National Assembly. Thus, under the hashtag #AEcuadorlosacamostodos, the president stressed the importance of “adding resources to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.”
In Ecuador, the president’s salary is set at $ 5,072, while the vice president and ministers are paid $ 4,869 and $ 4,463, respectively.
The Secretary General of the Cabinet, Juan Sebastián Roldán, assured that the cut in government salaries and a contribution from the salaries of officials, based on remuneration, will allow annual savings of about 300 million dollars.
The World Bank predicts that Ecuador’s GDP could contract up to 7% due to the health emergency. Ecuadorian Finance Minister Richard Martinez explained in a television interview that the state “needs to refinance itself to get out of this crisis, after raising the fiscal deficit from 3,500 to 8,500 million dollars in 2020.
K. Tovar
Source: dpa
