NewsWhore
06-06-2012, 03:40 PM
Will there come a time for a change in the way of doing politics in the Dominican Republic? The present widespread wasteful government spending, political patronage and discretion of government officials, all in the name of retaining power, could get a dent. There are indications that ethics and corruption could take a turn for the better in the new PLD administration that starts 16 August 2012. The appointment of Gustavo Montalvo to head the Danilo Medina presidency transition team, and comments on Monday by close aide Ramon Tejada Holguin about even the President adhering to the law have brought some optimism.
The optimism derives from Gustavo Montalvo's track record. Montalvo resigned from the position of director of the technical unit of the National Commission of Ethics and for the Fight Against Corruption in August 2005. The Commission had been created in the second Fernandez government to fight administrative corruption. At the time he also resigned from the position of director of Pro Reforma, an intra-government reform department, and from his post as liaison between the National Competitiveness Council and the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency (now Ministry of Planning).
He resigned on the grounds that he did not feel the government had the political will to confront corruption. News media at the time said he left because he could not accept the violations of rules, ethical problems and institutional matters taking place in the Fernandez administration.
The scandal that preceded his abrupt resignation was the case of the Office of the Presidency for Information Services (OPTIC) in which a quote for electronic government increased from US$1 million to US$13 million without any explanation. The person responsible for the project, Domingo Tavarez was never dismissed, despite a report disclosing the situation from the National Ethics Commission.
Montalvo's abrupt departure led the National Ethics Commission to become another of the long list of government departments entrusted with fighting corruption in government but having very little to show for the millions spent on the effort.
Gustavo Montalvo now has been appointed by President-elect Danilo Medina to head the transition team. Others on the team are Ruben Bichara, Carlos Amarante Baret, Cesar Prieto and San Cristobal senator, Tommy Galan. Montalvo headed the technical team that prepared Danilo Medina's government program. The Fernandez government is represented by Minister of the Presidency Cesar Pina Toribio, Minister of Planning Temistocles Montas, Controller General Simon Lizardo, Minister of Hacienda Daniel Toribio and Administrative Minister Luis Manuel Bonetti.
Yesterday, another close Medina associate, sociologist Ramon Tejada Holguin said that President-elect Danilo Medina is committed to creating the Department for Ethics and Transparency in government to ensure an effective fight against corruption and the respect of the law. Speaking on the TV show El Bulevar with Pablo McKinney on CDN Channel 37, the political analyst said that in the government that starts 16 August, "the law will have to be respected starting with the President."
"All in the State will have to respect the law," said Tejada Holguin.
He said that the great deficit in respect for institutions is not the norm, but rather that while the laws exist, they are not effectively applied, and citizens do not demand that they be applied.
"The State has been slow in the application of the laws," he said when referring to a government and the municipal planning system.
http://cables.mrkva.eu/cable.php?id=43050
www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2005/9/9/53701/print (http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2005/9/9/53701/print)
www.elcaribe.com.do/2012/06/05/cree-con-medina-habra-efectivo-combate-corrupcion (http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2012/06/05/cree-con-medina-habra-efectivo-combate-corrupcion)
www.listin.com.do/la-republica/2012/6/5/235112/Me-prepare-para-gobernar-en-los-buenos-y-en-los-malos-momentos (http://www.listin.com.do/la-republica/2012/6/5/235112/Me-prepare-para-gobernar-en-los-buenos-y-en-los-malos-momentos)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
The optimism derives from Gustavo Montalvo's track record. Montalvo resigned from the position of director of the technical unit of the National Commission of Ethics and for the Fight Against Corruption in August 2005. The Commission had been created in the second Fernandez government to fight administrative corruption. At the time he also resigned from the position of director of Pro Reforma, an intra-government reform department, and from his post as liaison between the National Competitiveness Council and the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency (now Ministry of Planning).
He resigned on the grounds that he did not feel the government had the political will to confront corruption. News media at the time said he left because he could not accept the violations of rules, ethical problems and institutional matters taking place in the Fernandez administration.
The scandal that preceded his abrupt resignation was the case of the Office of the Presidency for Information Services (OPTIC) in which a quote for electronic government increased from US$1 million to US$13 million without any explanation. The person responsible for the project, Domingo Tavarez was never dismissed, despite a report disclosing the situation from the National Ethics Commission.
Montalvo's abrupt departure led the National Ethics Commission to become another of the long list of government departments entrusted with fighting corruption in government but having very little to show for the millions spent on the effort.
Gustavo Montalvo now has been appointed by President-elect Danilo Medina to head the transition team. Others on the team are Ruben Bichara, Carlos Amarante Baret, Cesar Prieto and San Cristobal senator, Tommy Galan. Montalvo headed the technical team that prepared Danilo Medina's government program. The Fernandez government is represented by Minister of the Presidency Cesar Pina Toribio, Minister of Planning Temistocles Montas, Controller General Simon Lizardo, Minister of Hacienda Daniel Toribio and Administrative Minister Luis Manuel Bonetti.
Yesterday, another close Medina associate, sociologist Ramon Tejada Holguin said that President-elect Danilo Medina is committed to creating the Department for Ethics and Transparency in government to ensure an effective fight against corruption and the respect of the law. Speaking on the TV show El Bulevar with Pablo McKinney on CDN Channel 37, the political analyst said that in the government that starts 16 August, "the law will have to be respected starting with the President."
"All in the State will have to respect the law," said Tejada Holguin.
He said that the great deficit in respect for institutions is not the norm, but rather that while the laws exist, they are not effectively applied, and citizens do not demand that they be applied.
"The State has been slow in the application of the laws," he said when referring to a government and the municipal planning system.
http://cables.mrkva.eu/cable.php?id=43050
www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2005/9/9/53701/print (http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2005/9/9/53701/print)
www.elcaribe.com.do/2012/06/05/cree-con-medina-habra-efectivo-combate-corrupcion (http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2012/06/05/cree-con-medina-habra-efectivo-combate-corrupcion)
www.listin.com.do/la-republica/2012/6/5/235112/Me-prepare-para-gobernar-en-los-buenos-y-en-los-malos-momentos (http://www.listin.com.do/la-republica/2012/6/5/235112/Me-prepare-para-gobernar-en-los-buenos-y-en-los-malos-momentos)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)