Dr Leonel Fernandez, the President of the Republic, held a special meeting with the Mayor of Santo Domingo, Rafael Subervi Bonilla; the Minister of Public Works, Jimmy Duran; the president of Attwoods Dominicana, Abraham Canaan; the Minister of the Armed Forces, Juan Bautista Rojas Tabar; and television producer Freddy Beras Goico, at the closed Duquesa dumping site to discuss solutions to the problem of refuse collection in the capital.
After the meeting, Mayor Subervi Bonilla guaranteed that the rubbish accumulated on the streets of Santo Domingo would be completely removed in one month. President Fernandez had declared an “emergency plan” to solve the problem of refuse collection, which has been quite deficient in the last two months with the closing of the Duquesa dump. Mr. Duran promised to improve access to the dump so that trucks from Attwoods and the city council can reach the site, which has been impossible for some months.
The meeting at the Duquesa dump was seen as a positive step in the solution of the problem of refuse collection, especially with the presence of Mr. Canaan and Mr. Bonilla, who have clashed publicly in recent months. Mr. Bonilla and his predecessor Rafael Corporan de los Santos had harshly criticized the performance of Attwoods, which receives RD$10,000,000 per month for the collection of refuse in 342 sectors of the capital. In the last days of the administration of ex-President Joaquin Balaguer there was talk of canceling the contract, but both parties are now expressing a will to work in cooperation towards the goal of cleaning Santo Domingo’s streets.