Once powerful party’s “leeches and bums” fight for high paying posts

Santo Domingo.- A dispute over the posts in the Dominican Municipal League (LMD) has sparked new frictions within the once powerful Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), prompting Santo Domingo East Council member and PRSC leader Rudis Liriano to call them “leeches and bums.”

Adding to the conflict, PRSC leaders close to its president and Foreign minister Carlos Morales say their "quota" wasn’t "generous" enough and have begun to press current director Johnny Jones to sweep out officials left over from past administrations to make room for them.

The spat began once Jones became LMD General Secretary and Morales’ people demanded the highest paying positions, many of which were held by PRSC veterans with long careers as technicians or protected by the Civil Service Law.

Some senior and mid level PRSC leaders who work directly with Morales in the Foreign Ministry have been distributing statements to the press, criticizing Jones’ policies and demand that he name of more rank and file.

This weekend PRSC leader and journalist Roberto Brito issued a statement to the media stating that the LMD “is being used to disrespect PRSC authorities and create internal conflicts."

But while former PRSC deputy Luis Emilio Reyes Ozuna calls Morales’ management of the organization “personalistic“ and opaque, the Foreign Minister’s group slams Jones for in their view not having fired the entire staff appointed by former LMD director and ousted PRSC leader Amable Aristy, who’s the target of an investigation on alleged embezzling of at least RED$100.0 million .