Bidding will save RD$750 million

[NewsWhore]

Public bidding for contracts covering fuel transport across the Dominican Republic would save an estimated RD$750 million each year, and these savings could be spent on health or education or passed on to consumers, as reported in Hoy. Even with the price reductions, the study reveals that fuel transport sector would continue to be profitable. The document's first point is that open bidding would prevent the conflicts that damage the nation's image and create problems for the government. The document goes on to say that the current controls on fuel transport should be maintained under the bidding procedures, and that all companies currently servicing the sector would be free to participate. Petroleum distributors would be free to choose their carriers, "but with a strict control on volumes, and with penalties for anyone who breaches the agreements." Going further, the proposal says that drivers' salaries should be adjusted to current market levels that correspond to their labor, since "this would prevent labor conflicts in such an important area." According to the newspaper, the document points out that accepting the proposal would help resolve current issues within the sector, "without putting any of the parties at a disadvantage, except that it would reduce the hefty profits that no more than a dozen rich traders now receive to more acceptable levels." As a means of explanation, the document indicates that the current crisis in the sector is the result of differences between the petroleum distributors, the Petroleum Products Transportation Association (ATP) and the union that represents tanker truck drivers (SATPA). As a final point, the document lists three positive results: freedom to choose the fuel transportation company, lower transportation rates for all, and savings for the government.
Meanwhile, the conflict has the implementation of the DR-CAFTA moved now to March, as Texaco-Chevron distributors dispute the right to transport their own fuel.

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