If they had a magic wand, the first thing Dominican citizens would do would be to eradicate corruption from public life, according to a survey regarding people?s attitudes to corruption in 47 countries. The study was conducted by the international organization called Transparency International and reported in today?s El Caribe. Political parties were seen to be the main area of corruption in the Dominican Republic, followed by public services and the judiciary. Forty-one percent of Dominican respondents to the survey said they felt strongly affected by corruption. Poorer people tended to feel the effects of corruption more than their wealthier counterparts. El Caribe?s opinion piece on the subject says that there is nothing more exasperating than living in lean times and having to watch scarce resources being dishonestly diverted.
Leonel Fern?ndez, the official PLD candidate for the 2004 presidential election, said yesterday that his government would include an anti-corruption program that would put ?words into action?, transcending the usual rhetoric and outlining specific actions to combat corruption.
Meanwhile, the newly established Coalition for Transparency has stated that its members would cease to take part in national dialogue activities held by the government. Miriam D?az Santana, coordinator of Participaci?n Cuidadana and speaker for the Coalition, said that the organizations felt ?used? and that the dialogue had achieved little that did not fit in with the interests of the ruling government and the PPH (Plan Presidencial Hip?lito ? internal PRD movement seeking the President?s re-election). ?It entailed a thorough and enormous amount of work, and in the end the government got what it wanted.?
Another member group, the Comisi?n por la Nomina (a payroll norms committee), complained that despite their numerous recommendations to reduce public expenditure on state employees, the payroll continues to rise.
Diario Libre quotes Vice President and PRD pre-presidential candidate Milagros Ort?z Bosch, who attributes the country?s lack of progress to the presidential styles of current President Hip?lito Mej?a and his predecessor Leonel Fern?ndez. In her opinion, they followed in the footsteps of Joaqu?n Balaguer, whose style of government was suited to ?different times and conditions.? According to Ort?z Bosch, the government ?needs to be more democratic, participative and institutionalized in order to be more cohesive.?