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