The president of the Chamber of Accounts, Yanel Andres Ramirez Sánchez told the media that the institution’s role is to control government. He made the reply when answering to remarks by José Dantés Díaz, the judicial affairs secretary of the former ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). Dantés Díaz said on 8 December 2021 that the agency [Chamber of Accounts] is selectively carrying out audits. Dantés Díaz said the judiciary is today being used as a political weapon.
Ramírez Sánchez denied the position stated by the former ruling political party. When queried, he explained that the work of the auditing chamber is “technical, independent, objective and based on the generally accepted accounting principles.”
“It is up to others to decide if the evidence is right to be used in a judicial hearing,” he said. “The Chamber of Accounts is not there to prosecute anyone, it is a controlling entity. It is to make public what is public,” said Ramírez Sánchez, referring to the unprecedented transparency of the Chamber of Accounts.
The Chamber of Accounts under newly appointed Ramírez Sánchez has turned out more than 15 audits of government agencies covering primarily the past administration.
The PLD says that the audits are carried out are those of interest to the state prosecutors. The audits provide new evidence for the prosecuting of corruption in the past government.
For the first time, the audits were published online. This was criticized by the opposition party. The PLD says the Chamber of Accounts has become an arm of the Public Ministry.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
El Dia
Hoy
Listin Diario
Hoy – the recent audits
10 December 2021