NewsWhore
01-14-2009, 07:00 PM
Servio Tulio Castanos Guzman, president of the Foundation for Institutionality and Justice (Finjus) has criticized the fact that while the government has stepped up controls to secure more tax collections, there is no control over the use that government is giving to the money collected. "While we are being controlled, we have a state that no one is controlling," said Castanos Guzman in an interview with Huchi Lora on the CDN radio talk show yesterday. He says the main problem is one of weak institutions.
He made the comments while recommending that the upcoming government-promoted summit should focus on the need to strengthen institutions. "Congress has to take on its role as a controller of the Executive Branch," he said. "While the economic problems are transcendental, the country's problem today is one of institutions. He said the lack of controls by society on the state is a problem that needs to be given priority in the 28 January Summit agenda.
He said that governance is only exercised through institutions. He criticized the frequency of corruption scandals, such as the recent Chamber of Accounts, Sun Land, presidential pardons, and the new National Lottery scandal.
On the question of this latest scandal involving "donations" of toys the National Lottery says were worth RD$27 million, Castanos said that the Lottery was violating Law 87-01 that establishes in its Art. 20 that all the revenue from duties on gambling needs to be deposited with the Social Security Treasury.
Castanos said there is a need for institutions, political sectors and society to come together for a new social pact. According to Jose Francisco Pena Guaba, general administrator of the governmental National Lottery, he was not doing anything new. He stresses that the money was used for donating toys over the holiday. There is no record of what was actually donated, or what the RD$27 million purchased. As reported, the money was distributed in vouchers worth a pre-set RD$50,000 and RD$100,000 of toys to be procured at Importadora Metro warehouse. Pena Guaba says there is no list of the recipients because the vouchers were delivered to party spokesmen in Congress. The Dominican Anti-Corruption Alliance has made a complaint against the administrator of the National Lottery with the Department for Prosecution of Administrative Corruption.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
He made the comments while recommending that the upcoming government-promoted summit should focus on the need to strengthen institutions. "Congress has to take on its role as a controller of the Executive Branch," he said. "While the economic problems are transcendental, the country's problem today is one of institutions. He said the lack of controls by society on the state is a problem that needs to be given priority in the 28 January Summit agenda.
He said that governance is only exercised through institutions. He criticized the frequency of corruption scandals, such as the recent Chamber of Accounts, Sun Land, presidential pardons, and the new National Lottery scandal.
On the question of this latest scandal involving "donations" of toys the National Lottery says were worth RD$27 million, Castanos said that the Lottery was violating Law 87-01 that establishes in its Art. 20 that all the revenue from duties on gambling needs to be deposited with the Social Security Treasury.
Castanos said there is a need for institutions, political sectors and society to come together for a new social pact. According to Jose Francisco Pena Guaba, general administrator of the governmental National Lottery, he was not doing anything new. He stresses that the money was used for donating toys over the holiday. There is no record of what was actually donated, or what the RD$27 million purchased. As reported, the money was distributed in vouchers worth a pre-set RD$50,000 and RD$100,000 of toys to be procured at Importadora Metro warehouse. Pena Guaba says there is no list of the recipients because the vouchers were delivered to party spokesmen in Congress. The Dominican Anti-Corruption Alliance has made a complaint against the administrator of the National Lottery with the Department for Prosecution of Administrative Corruption.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)