The president of the Dominican Judo Federation, engineer Jaime Casanova, complained that while the government is investing more than RD$2 billion in sports installations for the Pan American Games, it is being too tightfisted to come up with the RD$50 million of budgeted funds to prepare Dominican athletes for competition. ?I cannot find anyone to explain that situation,? Casanova told Franklin Mirabal, sports editor of Hoy newspaper. Casanova has been treasurer of the Dominican Olympic Committee for two terms.
He said that the judo federation has not yet received one cent from the Ministry of Sports for its Dominican competitors. He said that they had planned to send their athletes to competitions abroad, but the funding has not been forthcoming.
Casanova estimated that the games would cost the country RD$3 billion, without taking into account the cost of the athletes? village. The additional RD$1 billion will go to the meals, lodging, transportation, equipping, and hotel and air accommodations for special guests. The government is primarily building new works in the Parque del Este and remodeling and building others in the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. The Santo Domingo Pan American Games will be held from 1 to 17 August and some 5,000 athletes are expected. Reporters are expected to number 3,000 from 42 nations in the Americas. The government has committed to have most of the sports installations ready by the 30 May deadline.