In his presentation during the First Dominican Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, held yesterday at the Fundacion Global Democracia y Desarrollo, the United Nations Development Program representative Niky Fabiancic highlighted it is time that the nation commit to a Project of a Nation, or a social contract. He said it is necessary, as part of this pact, that the system that allows for corruption be dismantled and that businessmen become more involved in matters of state. He said that all government sectors need to work hard so that taxpayer money be well spent and there be zero tolerance for corruption and impunity. He said a first step would be to eliminate the allotment of contracts without public tenders. He said that to build a state of law, with blind justice that is effective and timely, systematic and uninterrupted, should be a priority for the government. He urged that the business sector become more involved in matters of state. “As we have seen, it is not just about creating more jobs. There is also corporate social responsibility,” he explained. If society perceived this was happening, that is if the state spent its money more wisely, if the state got rid of corruption and impunity, if businessmen were more committed and contributed more to the operation of the state, then society would be more motivated to accept the sacrifices that are required of it, he said. He highlighted that it was “about generating the conditions in which all can win, by giving and receiving, where common good, not individual interests, would prevail”.
The UNDP recently released its 2005 Human Development Report highlighting how the DR despite being the Latin American country with the greatest economic development, has amongst the worst human development track records.
The report, in Spanish, can be accessed at http://portal.onu.org.do/interfaz/main.asp?…