It is now officially known that billions in irregular contracting at EdeNorte, EdeSur and EdeEste were going on during the past Medina administration. The day’s trending topic focuses on the two brothers of former First Lady Candy Montilla, Maxy and Alexander Montilla and their deals with the Unit for Rural and Suburban Electrification (UERS) and the power utilities.
As details of recent audits by the new government authorities become available to the general public, billions in irregular contracting are revealed to the general public by leading investigative journalists. In years past, investigative journalist Nuria Piera had carried out several investigative programs into the irregularities at power utilities, but no one was listening in the past government.
The irregularities mean the state has paid more than needed for the electricity sector’s products and services. The reports indicate that the Montilla brothers had a practical monopoly on supplies to several government-owned power utilities.
Andres Astacio, co-head with the Minister of Mines and Energy of the Unified Council of the Power Utilities (Consejo Unificado de las Empresas Distribuidoras de Electricidad), spoke of major irregularities in the contracting for the power utilities in an interview with Alicia Ortega for “El Informe”. He said at just EdeEste, RD$18 billion in irregular contracting has been identified. He said the same providers and the same corrupt contracting pattern operated at the other utilities, EdeNorte and EdeSur.
Altagracia Salazar on her “Sin Maquillaje” radio talk program says that the irregularities make Juan Alexis Medina, the younger brother of former President Danilo Medina who is now at arrest at Najayo jail for corruption, look like a minor player in past government corruption. Salazar takes from Greek mythology, and commented that while the Juan Alexis Medina case was dubbed the one of a two-headed octopus, the scandal at the electricity sector is more like “a hydra with seven heads.”
Julissa Cespedes of CDN on Monday evening aired details of the recent findings of the audit to the contracting carried out by the power utilities. Cespedes dubs the report the “Electricity Octopuses,” referring to the findings on the two brothers in law of President Danilo Medina, Maxy and Alexander Montilla. Cespedes says the two brothers were known as the “Asian giants” because they imported all needed by China’s power utilities. A second part of the report will be aired on Tuesday at 10pm on CDN Channel 37 on Claro TV.
Alicia Ortega
Julissa Cespedes (Part I)
Altagracia Salazar Sin Maquillaje
Edith Febles + El Dia
15 December 2020