El Siglo newspaper reported last week that in its first three months of government, the Mejía administration has allotted RD$900 million in public works "grado a grado" or contracts assigned without a tender. While campaigning for President and in its efforts to unveil corruption in the previous administration, President Mejía and his government have been very outspoken against this practice of alloting public works. The newspaper says that the PLD government assigned RD$2,000 million in works this way. Past President Leonel Fernández sent a bill to Congress to impede this type of contracting, but the later was not passed by the PRD-majority Senate. Last week, to journalist inquiries and responding to the series of stories published by El Siglo, President Mejía promised the practice will be over in January 2001. Former Dominican College of Engineers and Architects president, Roque Napoleón Muñoz in El Siglo has pointed out the contradiction between what was said by Mejía while on campaign and what is being done by his government. Muñoz says that the practice is an inevitable major source of corruption, and an unfair, and discriminatory practice. El Siglo reports that major contracts have been assigned to Worldwide Trading & Consulting of engineer Mustafa Abunaba for RD$656 million for the construction and repair of streets in the National District; Grupo Edifica, represented by engineer Marcos Arrogel Díaz, for RD$240 million; Edificaciones y Carreteras, Frias Modulbaez & Asociados have been assigned construction and supervision works for RD$56 million; and Arquinsa 21, represented by engineer Manuel Jiménez has been entrusted with the RD$120 million four-lane highway parallel to Las Americas Expressway. In his promise to end the practice in January, President Mejía said the government sought to move ahead on priority public works. "The tenders for government works will take place as of January, but they will be strict and by the law to not continue with the traditional scheme of allotting works in any which manner," he said talking to the press in La Romana.
