Former minister of public works turned politician, Eduardo Estrella, says he will participate in the civil society-organized march for an end to impunity for administrative corruption. At the same time, he recommended the Attorney General conduct a financial and technical audit for public works projects costing more than US$100 million, starting with the Odebrecht bribery scandal.
Estrella, who is the president of the Partido Dominicanos por el Cambio (DxC), said the Attorney General should contract qualified and independent experts to perform the audits and should start with projects built by Odebrecht, whose company’s officials have already confessed using bribes.
“If the Attorney General really wants to reach the bottom of this scandal, and fulfill the role the law attributes to him, he should start with an in depth investigation that includes a financial and technical audit to unmask all those who were part of this great robbery – because failing that, all the rest is pure circus,” he said.
He urged in depth investigations into the works, including Punta Catalina power plant, the studies and designs, the volumes executed, analysis of costs, to determine the unit prices for the works carried out by Odebrecht and other companies.
Estrella speculated that most of the large contracts for the construction of hospitals, aqueducts, highways and dams carried out in the past 20 years would not pass a financial and technical audit.
He said the government and the ruling PLD party should not hide the names of the government officials involved in the scandal from the Dominican people. He said that he that both bribes and overpricing are equally damaging. He said impunity is the main reason for the lack of order and institutional accountability that prevail in the country because people see there is no punishment for those involved in corruption.
Estrella called for support to the “March to put an end to Impunity” called by civil society organizations for Sunday, 22 January 2017, starting at Av. 27 de Febrero and Av. Máximo Gómez to the Independence Park.
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Diario Libre
20 January 2017
