UN General Assembly
1980

170. I should now like to make a few comments on the situation in my country one year after the restoration of the Republic. 171. Fourteen years of dictatorship and plunder brought economic ruin to my country and indeed traumatized the people of the Central African Republic. Since 20 September 1979 my Government has been dealing with this tragic situation in its efforts to achieve national reconstruction. A biennial plan for economic and social recovery for 1980-1981 has been adopted. It emphasizes economic recovery, the improvement of public financing, and mobilization of financial resources over the short and medium-term. 172. Priority has been given to the productive sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture, to development of the rural areas and the improvement of roads and other communication networks, all of which have received special attention from the Government. 173. In the field of public finances the Government has adopted a policy of budgetary austerity, eliminating all unnecessary expenditure on luxury items, reducing operating expenses and reorganizing the administrative structure.