The campaigns of those who seek to be the next rector of the state university (UASD) focus on delivering more wages and benefits for professors and staff. Meanwhile, wasteful spending seems to be normal at the university that is sponsored by taxpayers and where a minority pays tuition.
7 Dias reports that the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) appears to be in a period of financial prosperity, as it has been allocating RD$25 million for events and meetings. This expenditure comes despite the university not yet publishing its Annual Operational Plan (AOP) for 2025.
7 Dias reports that among the contracted services, “audiovisuals” stands out with a budget of RD$10 million. The university has also allocated RD$6 million for event setup, RD$4 million for rentals, and RD$5 million for printing services.
The state university launched the bidding process (UASD-CCC-LPN-2025-0001) for these services on 11 February 2025, through a national public tender.
The request for these services came from the UASD’s General Communications Directorate, as per the “Certification of Funds Availability” issued by the Financial Director, Wáscar Herrera Arias.
The technical specifications document does not detail the number of events or their locations, suggesting that this expenditure may not be part of a plan within the university’s AOP. However, it does state that the events will take place at the UASD headquarters, university centers, and campuses within the national territory.
The document details that the services include “diverse events (in terms of the number of people) of different kinds, both outdoors and in indoor halls (appearances by university authorities, parades, inaugurations, activities in general, among others); dismantling of said events.”
The UASD has an approved budget of RD$16,186,047,314 for 2025, almost two billion more than in 2024, when it was allocated RD$14,737,915,364.
Under the leadership of Editrudis Beltrán, the UASD has not publicly called for a larger budget, as was customary in the past. This could be due to a direct line of communication with the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, given that his son, Elyn Beltrán Soto, is a personal assistant to the head of state.
This direct access may explain why the UASD has significantly more funds. In Beltrán’s first year as rector, the university managed a budget of RD$10,200,487,294. In 2014, this figure increased by more than RD$3.5 billion.
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7 Dias
CDN
13 February 2025