Cracks in the armor of unity at the National Palace began to show last week as the Assistant Technical Secretary of the Presidency, Miguel Solano, publicly said that the Administrative Secretary, Diandino Peña, has been authorized by President Leonel Fernandez to award construction contracts without receiving competitive bids, but by favoring a selected few.
Mr. Solano argues that the fact that Mr. Peña worked in the office that gave out government construction contracts during the last government of Joaquin Balaguer, under the supervision of Bienvenido Martinez Brea, who was often accused of not awarding the contracts based on equal competition, leads him to believe that the same practices from “the unfortunate past” will continue under the nose of the President and with the silence of the Secretary of the Presidency, Danilo Medina, who has yet to comment on the situation.
Mr. Peña, who was one of the key figures in attracting the support of the business sector to the presidential candidacy of Leonel Fernandez and the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD), has denied the charges, arguing that the President has yet to order any new construction, making Mr. Solano’s statements “surprising and unfortunate”.