PLD legislator José Laluz denounced at the Chamber of Deputies that the government-owned Edesur power distribution company pays an exorbitant rent of US$300,000 a month for a building located on Av. Gustavo Mejía Ricart. Edesur signed a 17-year contract for the building during the government of former President Hipólito Mejía (2000-2004). The contract is now in its 18th year.
He observed the irony that the amount to be paid in rent is more than half of the loan the government contracted last week for US$100 million for network maintenance works.
He said that any person with a minimum of reasoning can see the waste of resources and lack of efficiency. Laluz observed with the money spent on rent over the years, Edesur could have built and occupied several buildings.
On 11 January 2018, in the last day of the legislature, Laluz called for an investigation into the high cost of the rent. He said that the total annual payment the government making on behalf of Edusur is a whopping RD$175 million.
Hoy newspaper reports that despite the plea, at the end his fellow legislators ignored the case. But the high rent has garnered attention in print and social media.
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Hoy
18 January 2018
