The deal the Abinader government reached with the owners of the Samana toll road concession continues to make headlines. Now it is known that the government accepted not to prosecute the concessionaires in exchange for the ending of the contract that would have expired in 2038. Emmanuel Esquea Guerrero, the lawyer the government had hired to look into the legalities of the contract, has said the contracting was mired with major irregularities.
A report in Diario Libre explains that while the government has declined its right to prosecute the company for irregularities, the Public Ministry or any citizen could proceed against the persons who signed the contract and the parties involved.
Meanwhile, Noticias SIN reports that the company charged for 4,500 vehicles when only 1,000 vehicles were transiting on the road.
The agreement signed 9 December 2021, between the government and the concessionaires Autopistas del Nordeste and Boulevard Turístico del Atlántico, states that the parties reciprocally grant each other “full release and legal settlement as well as all their officers, partners, shareholders (…), being released and waiving from today and forever, reciprocally and irrevocably, any action, claim, instance, right, claim (…). ), being released and renouncing from today and forever, reciprocally and irrevocably, to any action, claim, instance, right, claim (…), which have their origin or are the result” of the recent agreement “or originated or related directly or indirectly with the Concession Contract and the operation of the project”.
President Luis Abinader announced last week that the government will terminate in advance (by 22 December 2021) the administrative concession contract for the tolling of the road to Samaná.
Speaking for Participación Ciudadana, the civic watchdog group, Sonia Diaz said that from her point of view as a lawyer and investigator it is not so difficult to establish responsibilities. “We have to see to what extent they were negligent in embarking the country on such a project, which has harmed the Dominican people,” she said. The spokesperson for PC says while the government agreed not to prosecute the company officers, it could act against those who signed the contract for the government. The contracting spanned two Presidents — former President Hipólito Mejía and former President Leonel Fernandez.
Read more in Spanish:
Noticias SIN
Diario Libre
Noticias SIN
16 December 2021