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BiggerIDB US$100.0M loan to ease the plight of Dominican Republic’s poor
Santo Domingo.- The Board of Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) this week approved five operations for US$1.8 billion to promote policies and programs for sustainability and inclusion in the Bahamas, Brazil and the Dominican Republic.
The funds will also help strengthen the economic integration of the La Plata Basin countries.
In the case of the Dominican Republic, a US$100 million loan was approved to improve the living conditions of the country’s vulnerable population through conditional cash transfers in health and education, the IDB reported.
It said the program focuses on improving the social protection network, introducing innovations in the Unique System of Beneficiaries (Siuben) for the identification of users.
In addition, it will support the labor insertion of the beneficiaries of the Supérate program in the care sector and the purchase of support devices for the population with disabilities
Here are a few practical ways to help people with low or no income :
Relax rules for rent deposits to 30 days – not two months; and bring in a law that makes landlords return the deposits . Many people are evicted and the deposits are not returned. if you are broke, then you end up homeless.
Stop police harassment of the poor. There are too many petty arrests and demands for payment to get released from jail. Not wearing a mask during the pandemic should not be reason to end up in jail overnight in a crowded cell with other people without masks.
Low income people should get better access to medication.
Increase the $1500. Per month subsidy if someone is unemployed because of sickness.
Make it easier to get ID cards for Dominicans that have never had one. Throughout the country there are people young & old that have to pay thousands of pesos to get an ID card. There are easier ways to confirm that someone is a Dominican such as local Pastors, Affadavits from relatives etc etc. Right now abagados / lawyers are making lots of money from poor people without ID cards.
Make it easier for longtime workers to get their pensions if they do not have a birth certificate. People who worked for a company for years are denied pension because they cannot produce a birth certificate. How ridiculous and mean.
Issue ID Cards to all Dominican inmates in prison as part of their rehabilitation program. I know someone who was in La Victoria for 10 years . Despite the justice system recognizing his name on all legal documents for government use , he must now pay 75,000 pesos to prove who he is so he can be issued an ID Card. This could be easily resolved by issuing a card at the prisons. Without an ID card, people are easily arrested and cannot get a legal job. They will never be fully integrated into society .
Get Piped water to all homes so people can take showers instead of using buckets .