Diario Libre explains that the release of information on the national controller’s audit on the Plan Renove transportation unit replacement program is nothing but a smoke screen to divert the attentions of the Dominican people and redirect their focus away from the economic crisis affecting the country. Journalist Rafael Molina Morillo also writes in his Hoy page 2 column: “The only thing new is that the happening has stopped being a simple rumor and is now official as part of a report from the General Controllers Office.” He also doubts the case will be taken to justice. He writes, “As usual, nothing will happen, even if the whole world knows about it!”
Emilio Lapayese, in his column “In Just 100 Words”, used Spanish grammar to point out that the Plan Renove (with “renove” meaning “to renovate”) “not only assaults Spanish grammar, but also codes, laws and political and moral decency. It was a party of many millions of dollars, a memorable spree.” He says that “drivers, non-drivers, non-existent syndicates, greedy unions, phantom importers, middlemen, simple thieves, parasites, thugs, leaders and relatives all became part of the plundering of public property. One thing is for sure, nothing will happen to them.”
Former Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET) director Hamlet Hermann says in Hoy newspaper today that nothing will happen with the publicized claims because, for anything to be done, high-ranking government officials would have to be arrested for complicity, and this seems unlikely to happen.
“The President (Hipolito Mejia) has known about this always, but for endearments or political ambitions, he is an accomplice. In his style of government, negligence is complicity,” said Hermann.