According to the government-intervened Listin Diario newspaper, the Commission for Modernization of the Chamber of Deputies has requested that the Senate hire an outside auditing firm to verify whether there have been irregularities occurring at the Chamber of Accounts, the government?s accounting office. As reported most of last week by the Diario Libre and other papers, Senator Tonty Rutinel had revealed what he considered to be serious breaches of the norms associated with the accounts office. A sum of RD$28 million was allegedly eaten up by nepotism, cronyism and partisan politics at the chamber. The Espaillat (Moca) provincial deputy, Remberto Cruz, said that the country needed an explanation as to the true situation of the Chamber of Accounts. The money in question was part of an InterAmerican Development Bank program for better governmental money monitoring.
Participacion Ciudadana, the leading civic organization, has also requested a verification of results of the Rutinel audit. The PRD-majority Senate recently reconfirmed the members of the Chamber of Accounts in their posts, and the Executive Branch approved a 28% increase in the budget of the organization. Participacion Ciudadana demanded an explanation as to why the Senate confirmed the members, given the irregularities in the department that is in charge of auditing government department finances.