The director of the Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Estatales (CORDE), Mr. Pedro Bretón, said that a contract is about to be signed with a foreign firm to exploit the country’s marble, salt, and gypsum mines. According to Mr. Breton, the marble will be quarried in Samana and Vicente Noble, and the salt and gypsum extracted in Barahona.
He also explained to journalists that it was difficult to “even start talking about privatization with the private sector, foreign or domestic, because the current debt of CORDE’s enterprises is well over RD$480 million. It is out of the question for any foreign or domestic enterprise to even start talking business.”
Mr. Breton said that some of CORDE’s infrastructure was on land that was worth much more than the assets themselves. “Another problem is gross overmenning and a lack of economic resources.”
“The companies within the group could manage with only half the employees” said Mr Breton, “but if we start to discharge them we shall promote a serious social problem and to terminate them in accordance with law will require considerable funds.”
He continued by saying that Molinos Dominicanos, the flour miller, currently had 1700 employees its books and commented that “We are sure that with only 700 we could do a better job.”
“In the past,” said Mr. Breton, “the managers of CORDE have acted with irresponsibility and under political criteria, thus creating an unreal payroll without thinking of the dire future consequences.”