The Presidency named an oversight committee for the billionaire mass transit tenders in progress.
Over the years, especially in the past government, many oversight committees were created with business people seemingly to give legitimacy to decisions already made as to suppliers of goods and services.
What is known is when a decision of a goods or services supplier has been made, the tender is accommodated to that company.
President Luis Abinader on several occasions has demonstrated he can change course.
The country needs to decide on its billionaire spending for major transportation infrastructure.
Consultant Alex Ramirez de Marchena has been making the rounds of media urging the Abinader government not stick to old and established technologies, but also look into the innovations that are coming to the market.
The Presidency announced Resolution No. MINPRE-2024-3 establishes an ad hoc Citizen Oversight Committee for two key tenders—Fitram-CCC-LPN-2024-0001 and Fitram-CCC-LPN-2024-0002—conducted by the Trust Fund for the Development of the Mass Transportation System of the Dominican Republic (Fitram).
Tender 0001 involves the design, manufacture, construction, assembly, and commissioning of Line 3 of the aerial cable car system for public mass transit in Santo Domingo West. Tender 0002 pertains to the construction of infrastructure for the Santo Domingo Metropolitan Train.
Jose Ignacio Paliza, back on his job as Minister of the Presidency, issued this resolution, his first action as Minister, in his role as Chairman of Fitram’s Technical Committee, as stipulated by Decree 514-21. Article 7 of the decree mandates that the Fitram Technical Committee be led by the Minister of the Presidency.
The new Citizen Oversight Committee includes Franklin Báez Brugal, a prominent Dominican entrepreneur; José David Vargas, a seasoned engineer; and Pedro Silverio, economic advisor to the Executive Branch. These members are serving on a voluntary basis.
The committee is tasked with monitoring and overseeing all phases of the procurement processes for the mentioned tenders. It is also responsible for producing reports on the progress of each stage of the bidding processes. Fernando Henríquez will provide technical and legal assistance to the committee, as proposed by the Ministry of the Presidency. Should any conflicts of interest arise, committee members are required to disclose them to other members and to the highest authority.
The resolution also allows for the inclusion of additional experts and grants committee members the authority to recommend or request the hiring of local or international specialists to fulfill their duties.
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Presidency
Hoy
Fitram
Diario Libre
Bill Lockward
29 August 2024