I do not believe in the Easter Bunny

bearcat

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Nov 12, 2008
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No controls at 600 LPG stations


It's the same old story. The regulations exist, but nobody is there to enforce them, according to a column in today's Hoy newspaper. There are more than 1,000 propane gas stations in the DR, but over 60% of them do not comply with the standards that have been established for the safe handling of gas, says Julio Santana, director of the Standards and Quality Systems Department (Digenor).
His statement comes after an explosion at a station in a commercial and residential area, which caused millions of pesos worth of material damage and several injuries.
Santana stressed that without supervision there would be no compliance. He says he will be meeting with his boss, Industry and Commerce Minister Jose Ramon Fadul on a program drawn up by his technicians aimed at obliging LPG station owners to follow the regulations laid out by Digenor.
Interviewed by Hoy reporters Rosa Alcantara and Juan Ramirez, Santana stated the obvious: LPG stations without supervision breaking the rules and stations that do this pose a danger to the entire area surrounding the facility.
He said if the minister approves his plan, his supervisors would close any facility that is not up to standard, either temporarily or permanently.
Last week's explosion at an LPG facility in San Isidro injured 18 people and damaged dozens of buildings.
While Digenor has been in existence for 30 years, it has never really been at the forefront, even though it is the organization responsible for ensuring quality in weights and measures and security in gasoline and LPG stations.
Santana says the department does not have the vehicles, budget and personnel needed to fulfill its task.


I saw this article but I still do not believe what I just read; but I have learned that in this country you never read what is said but imagine that which is not said. With no budget, no cars and no authority all of the abovementioned is for nothing; and the people who live on this island are at risk and will continue to be so.
Graft and corruption are crimes of opportunity and with manpower, budget and regulations what we will get is more graft and corruption. The problem with the assumptions that this well intended but delusional man is making is that lives and works in another country. Regulations work when the rule of law works or even half works; that can be not be said about the Dominican Republic. Most if not all public officials are for rent; which include the police, judges and prosecutors. When we find one who is not it is a great shock and subconsciously you find yourself remembering that person in your prayers because you know he or she is ?NFL? (not for long)
Therefore I would suggest to this young idealist; and I am assuming that he is a patriot who would like his country to do well. To do anything less would be to lock him into the group that apparently believes that we need to make new law and regulations to open new ?revenue streams?. I would suggest to this young man that his first assumption is incorrect this is not a nation of law and it unfortunately is not a democracy. What it is a ?Plutocracy- Government by the wealthy, for the benefit of the wealthy?. That being said his proposed regulation scheme would not assure the public of safety it would only mean that those with a few and I mean a few dollars could buy their way and continue doing just what they are doing. The only difference being there would be more government officials driving around in new expensive SUV?s.
The only way more regulation works is that those who sponsor regulations have the ?stones? to enforce them; that may not happen until a member of the top of the heap family is killed or seriously hurt by willful negligent enforcement of the law.
As a former public accountant the Republic of the Philippines had a similar problem with government officials? taking ?commissions and fees? they solved that problem in part in the same manner that the US government tracks lower level drug dealers by ?following the money.? They perform lifestyle audits all on their government officials at certain levels and apply the same technique to personal suspected of taking money. These audits include the employee and his immediate family. This does not totally stop commission earning but as the Chinese general said, ?kill one man and your terrorize 10,000 but then I am assuming that the audit agency in this country has a code of conduct similar to the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accounts). CPA?s in the United States understand that their reason for being is to ?protect the public? and should they fail to do so, they go to jail.
Therefore the challenge before our new best friend is that he is fighting a battle based on culture there is a difference between principle-based behavior, which they favor, and rule-based behavior, which the United States has perfected.
The justification provided for even the most heinous corporate scandals in the United States are always couched in terms of an interpretation of some particular rule, regardless of whether the principle being pursued was fundamentally corrupt.
Therein is the problem he is operating in a fundamentally corrupt environment and though I wish him well I am old enough not to believe in the ?Easter bunny? or the ?Tooth Fairy.?
Good luck and God speed Mr. Santana.


Bearcat
 
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