Today dawns on a new administration, and not just new people, but a new party in power for the first time in 16 years. Many people are looking forward to what is to come, and others look back at what did or did not happen during the administration of Danilo Medina.
On the plus side, there is the completion of the Santiago Beltway, which goes around the city on the north. This was a project begun by president Joaquin Balaguer in the 1990s. Medina’s administration also built an important overpass at the Cienfuegos municipality entrance, greatly reducing traffic jams in the area. His people also rebuilt the highway connecting the small towns in the Sierra Central, such as Janico, San Jose de las Matas, and Monción, as well as the expansion and reconstruction of the highway between Navarrete and Puerto Plata. Other highly regarded projects are the Botanical Gardens and the Central Park, at the site of the old airport. These are now the most important ecological features of the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
Other contributions to the area are 91 new schools with the extended school day program and the 911 service. The construction of the Cienfuegos aqueduct is nearly complete. Remodeling continues at the Jose Maria Cabral y Baez Regional University Hospital and the Arturo Grullon Children’s Hospital, which was recently “inaugurated” by former President Danilo Medina.
Juan Carolo Ortiz, who heads the Strategic Plan for Santiago, noted that the Medina administration did not build new access roads to the city or the area, or housing projects, or improve traffic in the city. Ortiz said that there was still plenty to do about connectivity as well as housing programs. For example, President Danilo Medina cut the ribbon for the would be Juan Bosch City, but not a single house was built there. The much-needed overpasses along the Estrella Sadhala avenue were not built and were part of some 11 projects offered by Medina in December of 2012 during a meeting with the apex of local businesses and the Catholic Church.
The Cibao Ecological Society (Soeci) noted that very little was done regarding reforestation and the decontamination of the Yaque River, the single most economically important river in the Dominican Republic.
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Diario Libre
16 August 2020