In an interview with Jose Monegro, editor of El Dia, President-elect Luis Abinader speaks of first tackling the challenges of the health crisis, creating jobs, the recovery of the economy, maintaining macroeconomic stability and kickstarting the school year. In the interview, Abinader shares many insights of what is to come.
Getting straight to work
There will be no inaugural celebrations. At most a luncheon with international visitors will be held at the Presidential Palace on 16 August 2020. The traditional military parade and celebration at the Presidential Palace is cancelled.
Strategic Economic and Sanitary Plan
His team had been working on the plan to turn around the Dominican economy for years. It now has been adjusted to be carried out in the present health crisis. The government will present a supplementary budget to be approved by Congress. The good news is that the current opposition party, the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), will become the majority in Congress and will have the votes to pass the bills.
2020-2021 school year
The new government would be making large purchases of tablets, notebooks and laptops for public schools. There are ongoing conversations with the two largest telecom providers, Altice and Claro, to ensure connectivity. Virtual education will continue to play a big role in education in the next school year.
Health crisis
Vice President Raquel Peña will be heading the Health Cabinet of the Abinader administration. The focus will be on increasing testing, hospital capacity, ICUs in Santo Domingo and Santiago, where the most demand is. But also to reduce demand on these two cities by setting up ICU units in key cities in the provinces. New treatment protocols will be unfolded.
The already existing national protocol for medical supplies will be enacted. The Medina government had chosen not to go with it. The new government will also be taking advantage of the high-volume, low-cost procurement with the Central American bloc of which the DR is a member. This was disregarded by the Medina administration.
These savings will be directed to the health sector. “We are not going to spend less, we are going to spend more efficiently,” says Abinader. He promised widespread health sector reforms including universal medical insurance with quality service.
The Armed Forces and the Police will be asked to be more active in ensuring fulfillment of the curfew and social distancing protocols.
Restoring jobs
Abinader has named himself head of the Economy & Tourism Cabinet. He is optimistic that tourism destinations such as Punta Cana, La Romana, Samana and Puerto Plata, where there are relatively low infection risks, should be able to restore tourism levels to around 40% by the end of the year. His administration will be taking actions to bolster these areas and their recovery. He said visitors are being assured of the quality of hospitalization in these destinations, just in case. “We want them to feel secure if they are affected, that they will have due hospital care in these tourism poles,” he said.
Economic recovery
He said that from the start of the government his economic team will be announcing measures so people can really feel the change in government. The government will focus on creating jobs and opportunities in the construction area. New government housing and aqueducts will be among the first actions to get started.
He said other economic sectors that will get strong backing are farming and the industrial sector, including free zone industries.” We trust we can restore jobs and create new ones in these areas, he said. He mentioned the naming of Luis Miguel de Camps so as to ensure jobs. “We are looking for the new normal, where we get on with living with the epidemic, while the vaccines are developed,” he said.
He highlighted that the reason why he has been tweeting the names of new cabinet ministers is that the nation is in an emergency situation and there was the need for these to get to work right away. The Hostal Nicolas de Ovando has become the seat of the new government.
He announced new sources of funding from national and international sources will be included in the supplementary budget to be presented in the first month to Congress. Virtual meetings have been held with the InterAmerican Development Bank and the World Bank. “We have the financing to continue the present social relief plans. Our focus is to back small business. We are including an additional RD$12 billion for the health sector. And another RD$15 billion for special subsidies for housing,” he said in the interview.
He highlighted the plans ensure stability of the exchange rate and seek a fast recovery of the economy. “We have been working on this for years. We have a good team and now we have adapted our plans to the crisis,” he said.
He said the United Nations Development Programme is working with them in the transition period.
“People can trust that even in this crisis we will do everything that has to be done in each sector,” he said.
Corruption and transparency
He promised the country would take an “unprecedented” leap in transparency and combatting corruption and impunity. “We are already sending the messages that we are headed in this direction,” he said. He observed that the naming of Carlos Pimentel, the local representative of Transparency International, to the Procurement Agency, and of former Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch to the Government Ethics Division are two signs of this. “There will be zero impunity and corruption in government,” he said.
He says the designated Attorney General is getting two instructions: (1) Let justice work. (2) Act respecting the Constitution and the laws. “We will not come with a vendetta, nor to retaliate. We want justice to act,” he said.
He confirmed the Chamber of Accounts would also be staffed with independent auditors. These appointments would be announced at the start of the new government.
He said the communication has been good with President Danilo Medina as the teams look into the normal problems arising during a transition. “This is a short transition period,” he said. “We have asked the government to limit itself to day-to-day matters through its term that expires on 16 August, and not take decisions that could be questioned later.”
He said government will be restructured. There will be the health cabinet, the economics and tourism cabinet, the investment cabinet, and the education cabinet. “The idea is to ensure unity of criteria and more efficient government. This is the most efficient way of managing government,” he said.
As part of the restructuring, the Office of Supervisory Engineers of the Presidency (OISOE) and the 38 institutions under the Ministry of the Presidency will be merged with other government departments and agencies. “This will be a leap towards efficiency,” he insisted. He confirmed the shutting down of OISOE and the State Sugar Council (CEA), “a real estate company that sold state property to politicians.” OISOE will be merged with the Ministry of Public Works and the National Housing Institute.
Electricity sector
He said the Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE) should have been fully shut down in 2001. Instead its costly boards and billions in wasteful spending had continued. There will be just one board, the purchases and finances of the power utilities (Edes) will be centralized. “CDEEE is going to become a trust,” he said. “We want to open up to private management the power utilities, with the goal that service be reliable and at competitive prices,” he said.
He said the government is a participant in two power generation companies – EgeHaina and Itabo – that are privately managed. He said the government has 100% ownership in EgeHID (hydroenergy) and Punta Catalina (coal-fired). “These will be consolidated in the same government division. We will study if we sell part of Punta Catalina in the coming weeks. We are organizing the state. Making it more efficient. The savings will then we used to improve the quality of life of the population.”
Foreign policy
Abinader says for the first time the Dominican Republic is going to have a true foreign policy. “We are going to define the countries with which we have special relations,” he said. He expects to achieve new unprecedented alliances in trade and investments, attracting more US companies to the DR.
“This is an area where a great reform of the foreign service and the Ministry of Foreign Relations will be noticed,” he said.
He speaks of fighting drug trafficking and international crime as part of foreign policy.
Regarding Haiti he said the relations need to be one of win-win. “Haiti has to cooperate controlling migration to the Dominican Republic. We are going to help them increase their international assistance so they can develop. But we cannot carry the burden of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere,” he said.
He mentioned health issues. “We achieve nothing vaccinating in the DR if our neighbors are not vaccinating,” he says. He expects special collaboration with the Police in Haiti. He said at present time criminals cross to Haiti and from there, they travel to other countries.
Among the other countries the DR will strengthen its relations from the start are Spain, Mexico and Canada, which have large investments here.
He said he has already met with the Ambassador of China and explained the close ties with the United States. He said he explained the special relationship. “We have two million Dominicans living in the US, the US is our main trading partner; the main source of tourists,” he said. He said he explained to the ambassador that this partnership with the US “does not impede us having satisfactory relations with China and their companies are welcome to invest in areas that are not strategic for our security,” he said.
He said the PRM won the election with 53% of the vote. But he clearly understands he was elected to be President of 100% of Dominicans. “The party is aware of that,” he said. Together we are taking steps to improve the quality of life for all Dominicans, he highlighted.
He welcomed a critical press and promised better communication with the press. He promises a honest and transparent government. “We are in a crisis. We need to listen to all sectors to get good ideas,” he said.
Listen to the interview in
Spanish:
José Monegro – Luis Abinader interview
2 August 2020