Speaking at a workshop “Corruption: the role of the civil society and business sector in its prevention and prosecution” yesterday, Thursday 16 April 2015, the US Ambassador in the Dominican Republic James W. Brewster said that corruption in the country demands a Dominican solution. He said no external force could be a catalyst for changes in the Dominican system to eliminate corruption.
While in the past Dominicans were indifferent to corruption, recent polls show increasing public concern about administrative corruption. A recent court case against ruling party senator Felix Bautista, notorious for being the country’s most extreme rags-to-riches case, has increased national awareness and reduced apathy for the scourge of corruption. The media has highlighted the lenience of the courts when it comes to penalizing administrative corruption. Prominent cases have been archived by the judiciary before the evidence is even heard in a courtroom.
In his opening words, Brewster quoted the US Secretary of State John Kerry’s comment on International Anticorruption Day: “The moral and practical costs of corruption are no longer debatable. Corruption drives instability, popular protests and revolutions.” He highlighted that corruption affects every sector of government, hinders development, increases poverty and suffocates innovation and discourages foreign investment. He added that corruption affects the reputation of a nation and money laundering as a result of corruption finances terrorism and transnational crime. The ambassador said it takes money that is intended for public works to pad the bounty of kleptocrats. To remain indifferent to these crimes is to become their accomplice, said Brewster.
He commented that corruption is seductive, greases wheels and opens doors, and protects allies. But he said it also steals from many honest men and woman to benefit a few dishonest people. He said the more ethical people carry the heaviest burden. “By rejecting corruption, you have chosen the path of most resistance. I support that,” he told the audience.
Speaking during the workshop, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic, Gustavo Tavares, said he favors the existence of an independent and autonomous judicial branch that can process other government branches and hand down impartial rulings. He said that the American Chamber of Commerce is concerned at the lack of confidence in the Dominican judicial system.
Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito also attended the event.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2015/04/17/i1104571_brewster-corrupcin-repblica-dominicana-exige-respuesta-una-solucin.html
http://amcham.org.do/index.php/sala-de-prensa-2/noticias/359-la-corrupcion-como-prioridad-en-la-conciencia-nacional-tema-de-debate-en-seminario-amchamdr