Toothless financial statement Law buoys 4,724 scofflaw officials

Santo Domingo.- 4,724 designated and electedofficials who took or left their post on August 16 have yet to submit theirfinancial statement on the latest list disclosed by the Accounts Chamber,although the law doesn’t establish serious penalty for scofflaws.

Of the total, 67 are officials appointed bythe President, six of them outgoing, and 4,657 elected or have left their post inthe last congressional and municipal elections.

Among those yet to file figure 11 directors,11 provincial governors, 22 deputy ministers, 207 mayors, 171 deputies, 374 townshipdirectors and former directors of municipal districts. There are also 1,886current and form council members, 435 deputy directors of municipal districts,271 former and current deputy mayors and 1,282 other city officials.

The Accounts Chamber’s list of scofflaws includesconsul in New York, Carlos Castillo, Civil Aviation Institute director AlejandroHerrera, National Statistics Office director Alexandra Izquierdo, Passports directorIris Guaba, Foreign Relations Ministry Foreign Trade Office director CésarDargam and Presidency Special Programs director Domingo Contreras.

Also National Housing Institute director MayobanexEscoto, Port Security Corps director Emilio Recio Segura, Monetary Board memberJaime David Fernández Mirabal, Special Agricultural Development Fund director JoséCasimiro Ramos and Port Authority director Víctor Gómez Casanova.

Also the senator from Samaná, Prim Pujals; ,Rafael Calderón, Azua;, Sonia Mateo, Dajabón, and outgoing senators José MaríaSosa, San Pedro, and Francis Vargas, Puerto Plata.

Also on the list are the provincial governorsof La Vega, Duarte, El Seibo, Valverde, Duarte, Sánchez Ramírez, Monseñor Noël,Monte Plata, San Pedro, La Romana and Azua.

Presidential chief of staff Gustavo Montalvoon Monday warned that officials who havenot submitted their financial statementby November 30 will be excluded from the payroll in December.

Toothless Law

Although Law 311-14 stipulates that thepublic servant who fail to submit their financial statement within 30 days of being appointed or electedwill incur "serious misconduct," it doesn’t mandate fines or prosecution.