New Port Authority director turns down credit card for US$10,000 a month for personal expenses

[Dolores]

Has Jean Luis Rodriguez, the new executive director of the Dominican Port Authority, opened a Pandora’s box?

Rodríguez is setting an example that many government officials will find tough to follow. He understands the extras are illegitimate and untimely in these Covid-19 days

Rodríguez turned down US$10,000 a month in personal expenses. He was not being held accountable for how he spent the money; the government would just pay the credit card bills, no questions asked.

Rodriguez also turned down being paid RD$50,000 bonus for each time he attended a board of directors meeting of the Dominican Port Authority.

The disclosure by Rodriguez provides another glimpse into the wasteful spending that was normal in the past Medina administration and if unchecked could continue in the Abinader administration.

Rodríguez acknowledged that the generous...

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[CristoRey]

Actions speak louder than words.
Good for him.
Minimum wage down here is less than
10,000 pesos a month and the average
salary is somewhere around the $450 USD mark.
Shameless.

 

[Joseph NY2STI]

I wonder how many Dominican citizens even knew these perks existed. A Pandora's box indeed.

 

[Caonabo]

A $50,000 monthly BONUS to show up to a meeting of directors of which you are the head director? Is this not your JOB?
Shameless indeed.

 

[Joseph NY2STI]

Can anyone living in D.R. tell us if this is a big story among the public? It sounds like the proverbial "bombshell" that should be front page news, especially in a reformist political environment.

 

[CristoRey]

Can anyone living in D.R. tell us if this is a big story among the public? It sounds like the proverbial "bombshell" that should be front page news, especially in a reformist political environment.

The Dominicans I socialize with on a regular basis
aren't really the type of people to complain. I've not
heard anyone around here talk about this latest "bombshell"
however they do tend to say the people running this country
do not care about this country.

 

[MikeFisher]

no average Joe on teh streets will even know about this news or not pay attention to it for more than a few minutes.
this is part of that whole corrupt inneccessary spending machine teh new government has to stop all around.
that a official gets necessary expenses reimbursed by his employer/the government, that's fine no doubt,
but credit cards and cash to be spend without questions asked about the "why/for what?", that has to stop completely.

 

[josh2203]

The Dominicans I socialize with on a regular basis
aren't really the type of people to complain. I've not
heard anyone around here talk about this latest "bombshell"
however they do tend to say the people running this country
do not care about this country.

I have to agree with this. It's not that much that the people I know (my wife's family basically) don't complain, but there is little they can do and no reason for them to really care about things like this. They know all politicians mainly just steal and they want to have nothing to do with anything public / government funded.

For me/us as a family, taxes we pay in the form of payments that are part of any invoices are just something we have to do... Keeping in mind the invoiced amoutn fo any grocery bill / internet / gasoline etc, is ridiculous compared to what we'd be in Europe, but that's just the way it is here... And most likely, even if high taxes, you get little if nothing in return...

What the news tells to me is that if Abinader's salary was that $450k in pesos, that's probably nothing (if he does not have perks), as the other government officials may get much much more but just not as a direct salary... So now we know how meaningful the table showing government salaries when Abinader started was... Those were the actual salaries, but who knows how much they get outside of that...

 

[Caonabo]

Can anyone living in D.R. tell us if this is a big story among the public? It sounds like the proverbial "bombshell" that should be front page news, especially in a reformist political environment.

While maintaining steam in some circles, overall no.
Now, if it had to do with an elected officials' paramour/s shopping junkets, salon bills, or new Mercedes SUV, that yes, would be a front and center topic of discussion across the spectrum.