The Listin Diario comments today in an editorial on the contradiction between what it calls the "lack of consideration" for the Voluntariado del Museo de las Casas Reales, a group of persons that had dedicated years to the promotion of culture, and to the free allotting of resources to ghost institutions. Decree 1307-00 of 31 December 2000 suspended the incorporation of the Voluntariado del Museo de las Casas Reales, a prestigious non-governmental organization that for 24 years endeavored to promote the arts in the DR. The monuments and work of the organization by the decree were placed under the tutelage of the new Ministry of Culture. The motives are not clear, as the decree that suspends the Voluntariado’s incorporation does not specify the reasons for the dissolution. The Voluntariado is given until 12 January to move out of its headquarters at the Casa Rodrigo de Bastidas, adjacent to the Fortaleza Ozama in the Colonial City. The Voluntariado gets to keep the valuable collection of works of arts it has gathered over the years, by keeping one work for every art exhibition. The Voluntariado operated for more than 10 years with its own funds until having been provided with a RD$30,000 monthly subsidy by the government. This was suspended eight months ago. In its editorial today commenting on the contradictions between the "good" and the "bad" non-governmental organizations, the Listin Diario says: "The worst of all is that both the same government and the people know that many of these entities are nothing but quickie inventions for the enrichment of groups of individuals, in the name of a shameful political blackmail that every year gets a hold of government funds when it is time to debate the budget. "This monumental waste insults this society full of poor that suffer and mocks those who pay taxes so that these may return in productive and useful works, not so that their money fill the pockets of people that have not lawfully earned this money. And much less deserve it."
