MOSCOW, November 29 (Sputnik) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced plans to reduce public spending, as oil prices continue to drop, the Wall Street Journal reports Saturday.
In a televised address on Friday, Maduro said he intended to set up a special committee that would outline proposals for public spending cuts. The president said the reductions will be first applied to government officials and state-run companies, not naming any specific numbers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
However, the president stressed no cuts in the social programs would be made.
On Thursday, during the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna, the organization’s members decided to maintain oil output at current levels, thus making way for further drop in oil price.
Venezuela’s economy largely relies on oil production, with oil accounting for 95 percent of country’s exports and making up 45 percent of budget revenues.
