Dominican Govt. corruption ‘eats up’ US$520.0M/year

Santo Domingo.- Herrera and Santo Domingo Province Industries Association (AEIH) president Antonio Taveras affirmed Sun. that govt. corruption destroys collective wealth in an accelerated manner and rocks the institutional foundations, creating a high risk for governance.

He warned that govt. corruption has taken over RD$26.0 billion (US$520.0 million) annually in the last decade-and-a-half, taking into account the 94 cases of real estate, contracting services, spending, transfers, materials, supplies and others.

The business leader said the cases in a technical study made from 1998 to 2014 total over RD$276.0 billion, which adjusted to the exchange rate of 2017 exceeds RD$445.0 billion.

He said if we add to that reality that -according to Oxfam- RD$96.3 billion per year are spent in the country, or 2.5% of GDP, excesses, indelicacies and prevarication with public resources “are literally eating up the Dominican Republic.”

Taveras said corruption and waste reach alarming and intolerable levels, for which society shouldn’t cede more space to passivity or indifference to the phenomena.

“Corruption has a decisive impact on the quality of life because it makes transaction costs more expensive, in turn raising inflation, discourages future investments and even undermines the innovation of a regime of competitiveness.”