British Ambassador, Andy Ashcroft, asked the Public Works Minister
Manuel de Jesus (Freddy) Perez for explanations regarding the
assignment of the contract to Dekolor for the making of the new
driver’s licenses, as reported in El Nacional. In a letter dated 15
June 2005, the diplomat stated that he is acting upon request of De La
Rue, a British company that presented a proposal at a lower cost than
Dekolor, but did not receive a reply. De La Rue was invited by the
Public Works Department (SEOPC), through Deputy Minister Claudia
Franchesca de los Santos, to submit a self-financed proposal as the
company has experience with similar projects in Peru and New York. De
La Rue responded quickly and presented their proposal on 13 April 2005
to De los Santos and the Director of the Transit Department, Rafael
Tobias Crespo. The proposal was apparently well received and
presented a final cost of RD$280 per license as opposed to Dekolor’s
RD$350. However, the SEOPC had signed the contract with Dekolor
almost two months earlier, on 18 February 2005. The diplomat’s letter
was copied to President Leonel Fernandez, Foreign Relations Minister
Carlos Morales Troncoso, and the Director of the Center for Export and
Investment, Eddy Martinez. Diario Libre reports that the legal
advisor to the SEOPC, Julio Cury, reacted by saying that Ambassador
Ashcroft had committed an “intrusion and impudence” by demanding
explanations from the Dominican government for this case. He said
that the diplomat seems to be acting on behalf of De La Rue, something
that is beyond the scope of any diplomatic mission in this country.
He explained that there was no tender to choose the winner of the
contract, and that the selection was done by studying the proposals.
The lawyer claims that De La Rue was disqualified because it proposed
to issue the licenses in the United States.