Opposition party calls rivals thieves…official retort: desperate

SANTO DOMINGO.- Like calling the kettle black, the opposition PRD party yesterday listed 71 cases worth RD$540.0 billion (US$13.5 billion) in alleged government corruption since 2004 to the date committed by officials of the ruling party PLD, which responded by calling their rival in the May 20 presidential elections, “desperate.”

PRD Economic Commission spokesman Arturo Martinez Moya on Monday showed documents with the names and projects where graft occurred. "It’s an annual corruption equal to 5 percent of the GDP in the last 7 years.”

He said PLD corruption has swallowed billion of dollars averaging to two billion dollars annually, from the taxes paid by Dominicans and loans.

In response, PLD General Secretary Reinaldo Pared called the PRD’s allegation "an irresponsible denouncement" lacking “sustenance” or veracity. He said the opposition party’s denunciation "signals their desperations."