The Dominican government has unveiled a comprehensive plan aimed at rationalizing and modernizing public administration. Announced by President Luis Abinader during his weekly La Semanal press conference, the plan proposes merging four ministries and eliminating one as part of a broader strategy to reorganize the huge state apparatus. The restructuring, which also involves consolidating several state institutions and dissolving others, is projected to yield savings of RD$25 billion.
The announcement of restraining the growth of the government comes at a time when the Abinader administration has pending sending to Congress a bill for fiscal reform, meaning more taxes.
Minister of Hacienda Jochi Vicente presented the restructuring plan during the press conference. He said the savings would be used for improvement in the health, citizen security and infrastructure.
The government said the number of jobs in these institutions would be frozen to levels in August 2024. Only more medical staff, teachers and police would be contracted. The government did not give details on where the savings would be had to achieve the objectives of less bureaucracy and more efficiency.
In a presentation during “La Semanal con la Prensa,” Abinader emphasized that the initiative is designed to create a more efficient government rather than a smaller one. “We are not making a smaller government; we are making a more efficient one, where resources will be invested where they are needed most—to improve the quality of life for Dominicans,” he stated.
Key changes outlined in the plan include the merger of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Mescyt) with the Ministry of Education (Minerd). Additionally, the Administrative Ministry of the Presidency will be restructured into a “Secretariat of Administration” directly reporting to the Presidency. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Development (MEPyD) will also be consolidated into a single Ministry of Economy and Hacienda.
Sigmund Freund, Minister of Public Administration, explained that merging Mescyt and Minerd will enable a more “strategic and integrated” allocation of educational funds. This move is expected to enhance educational quality and reduce “unnecessary costs” by creating a unified educational system from early childhood through higher education. Freund highlighted that the reorganization aims to improve coherence in educational actions and align academic curricula with labor market demands.
The government anticipates that merging MEPyD and the Ministry of Hacienda will boost coordination and efficiency in public management. Additional measures will be implemented to enhance support areas such as human resources, finance, procurement, legal affairs, security, and communications.
Furthermore, the plan includes the absorption of the Dominican Agrarian Institute (IAD) by the Ministry of Agriculture to eliminate redundancy and capitalize on the Agricultural Bank. Other proposed consolidations include merging the Social Subsidies Administrator (Adess) with the Supérate Program, transferring the Presidential Commission for Provincial Development to the Ministry of Housing, and integrating the Economic Canteens (Comedores Economicos) with the Presidential Anti-Poverty Plan. The National Maritime Authority and the National Aquarium will be combined to form the Oceanographic Institute, while the National Council of Agricultural Research will merge with the Agricultural Investment Institute.
Among the eliminated entities are the Workers’ Savings and Pawn Shop, the Sectoral Commission for the Reform and Modernization of the Agricultural Sector, the Dominican Council for Overseas Development (Condex), the National Population and Family Council, and the Presidential Commission for Port Modernization and Security. Additionally, the Business Commission for Mortgage and Trust Development, the International Advisory Commission on Science and Technology, and the National Directorate for the Promotion and Development of Crafts (Fondearte) were also dissolved. Fondearte would be integrated with the Ministry of Industry & Commerce.
Congress needs to approve 80% of the changes proposed. The ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) is majority in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
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Diario Libre
17 September 2024