President Luis Abinader presented what he described as the widespread efforts of his government to crack down on administrative corruption. He said there are many challenges ahead. He urged the population to denounce the cases and exercise their right to transparency. He urges people place more complaints and stop seeing corruption as something normal.
He presented advances under the Government Ethics and Integrity Agency (under former Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch), the Anti-Fraud Unit (a division of the Comptroller General Office under director Leonidas Radhames Peña) and the Procurement Agency, the purchasing division of government under director Carlos Pimentel.
On the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, the leading global indicator of public sector corruption, the Dominican Republic has a score of 36 in 2024, with a change of 1 since 2023, ranking 104 out of 180 countries. Participacion Ciudadana is the local partner for Transparency International.
The press conference on the Abinader administration efforts to combat administrative corruption aired just hours before the El Informe con Alicia Ortega presented blatant examples of widespread corruption in school supply contracting by the government entity responsible for public school procurement, Inabie. Likewise, the Operacion Lobo is an ongoing crackdown on military and police corruption. Moreover, Roberto Santana continues to denounce corruption in jails run by the military and police. And the current director of Intrant has revealed how corruption works at the top level of different government departments.
The recent contracting by Inabie is protested by the Association of Textile Producers (Aditex) that denounces that the people who have the machines to manufacture the supplies are known in the sector and that the contracting department at Instituto Nacional de Bienestar Estudiantil (Inabie) allowed that more than RD$500 million be contracted to companies created for the purchase, even when they did not have the workshops to produce the goods. The El Informe con Alicia Ortega investigation revealed the beneficiaries were owned by the same people with family ties.
Aditex has been for months complaining of unfair competition from low-cost imports—particularly those from China sold at dumping prices—along with the growing influx of new and second-hand clothing known as “pacas” and “tanques.”
According to textile sector analysts, this market distortion has led to a significant drop in demand for local products, directly affecting the productive capacity of national manufacturers. The consequences include reduced income for local businesses and heightened risks to job stability in the textile and garment sector.
The blow of corruption in government contracting for school supplies and uniforms makes matters worse for the local textile producers.
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La Semanal 14 July 2025
El Informe con Alicia Ortega
Aditex
Diario Libre
El Nacional
DR1 News
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DR1 News
15 July 2025