President Luis Abinader told media directors that he will submit the bill to modify the Hydrocarbons Law to Congress on 27 February 2022, as he had promised in his first accountability speech on 27 February 2021. The President said the law will be amended to change the fuel tax payment scheme.
The rising cost of fuel in the country has been the trending topic. On Monday, 7 February, economists Apolinar Veloz and Henri Hebrard gave explanations on the make up of the cost of fuel in the Dominican Republic for the La Cuestion radio talk show. TV variety show host Mariasela Alvarez interviewed Henri Hebrard and he gave additional insights on her Esta Noche con Mariasela show.
Abinader also said that he would deposit a bill to amend the Procurement Law 340-06.
Also in the works is the presenting of a bill to regulate public trusts. The government has been resorting to the public-private alliances in the form of trusts to take on what would be government responsibilities.
In the meeting with media directors and opinion leaders, the President insisted that the best formula for the administration of the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant is a public trust. He made it clear that the government will wait for the discussions to be held by the Economic and Social Council (CES) to make the final decision regarding the Punta Catalina trust, but insisted that the government will also present its arguments in defense of the trust mechanism to the CES.
At the meeting, Abinader said that all parties represented in the Chamber of Deputies voted in favor of the Punta Catalina trust contract, so he is now surprised by the reactions against it that have followed. Several legislators afterwards said they had not read the contract and acted merely on the favorable opinion presented by the committee that studied the contract.
He said that even the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) had been in agreement. He said he learned that the spokesman for the PLD deputies, Gustavo Sánchez, had consulted the directors of the PLD about how to vote on the contract and they authorized its approval.
The Abinader administration has favored the mixed private-public trust modality for responsibilities that were handled by government entities in the past. The government has created a trust for allotting public transportation on key bus routes, a trust for collecting the vehicular inspection permits, a trust for garbage service, and more. Roberto Rosario of the Fuerza del Pueblo political party has said it will demand the government publish the contracts for these trusts.
Abinader told the media directors that a corporation for the operation of a Dominican airline is in the works. The Dominican government would own 51% of the shares and the private sector the remaining 49%.
During the meeting, Minister of the Presidency, Presidency Minister Lisandro Macarrulla announced that on 13 February 2022, the government will inaugurate the Winston Churchill Avenue Bus Corridor. He said this would be administered by the same Mobility and Transportation Trust that manages the Núñez de Cáceres corridor.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
La Cuestion
Esta Noche con Mariasela
Alianza Pais
Hoy
El Caribe
Diario Libre
El Nuevo Diario
El Nuevo Diario
N Digital
8 February 2022