Economy Ministry gives millions to ghost groups: Anticorruption Alliance

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Anticorruption Alliance, ADOCCO, on Monday accused the Economy Ministry of giving millions of pesos to hundreds of ghost organizations and acquaintances who use the money for politicking.

It said RD$1.5 billion from the 2014 Budget will be donated to NGOs whose work is unknown by society, or by the agencies charged with oversight on how Dominican taxpayers’ money is used.

It said the allocations to NGOs figure in the budgets of the ministries of the Presidency, Education, Sports, Labor, Agriculture, Public Works, Industry and Commerce, Women, Culture, Youth, Environment and Higher Education.

Adocco said the Administration will allocate RD$67.0 million more than in 2013, to the more than 1,500 non-profit groups, which operate mostly to profit their managers.

It accuses Economy deputy minister Hernán Paredes, head of the association that promotes non-profit groups (CASFL), of violating Law 122-05 which regulates NGOs, for selecting the organizations without legal criteria.