President Danilo Medina reached out to the business community in a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon yesterday, Wednesday 9 December 2015. The previous keynote speaker at the event, US Ambassador James Brewster had called on the business community to take action to reduce corruption in the country in the traditional Thanksgiving Day address.
In his speech, Medina addressed the recent corruption scandal in the judiciary, acknowledging that the justice system was facing difficult challenges. He expressed hope that the Constitutional mechanisms in place would be used to guarantee the correct practice of justice.
“I tell all Dominicans that we are on the same side, that of rectitude, of things done right, of honesty; and from this position we are going to fight a fierce battle for transparency and the rule of the law,” he stated.
“We know that there are bad practices in our society and we also know that as a nation and as a government, it is up to us to address them,” he said.
He upheld the separation of powers established by the Constitution.
“We know that justice in our country faces difficult challenges at this time; but as President of the Republic and a strong supporter of our institutions, I defend and absolutely respect the separation of powers established by our Constitution, which gives full autonomy to the judiciary. ”
However, he pointed out that as a citizen and defender of the law, he could not remain indifferent to the concerns expressed by the people.
He said to be aware that institutional weakness is an obstacle both for investment and for developing nations.
In his speech, he also asked for the business community’s support. He stated that the government efforts would not be sufficient for the country’s integrated development without the decisive participation of the private sector to motorize economic growth. He called for the business sector’s support for energy projects, improvements in public transport, social security and institutional strengthening.