A story in Diario Libre on 5 October 2021 reveals that the government has budgeted RD$4.65 billion to pay for the so-called “shadow toll” awarded in the controversial Samana toll road contract. The allotment is slightly lower than the RD$4.93 billion allocated in the 2021 budget.
Diario Libre highlights that the total is more than allotted to the ministries of Sports, Labor, Culture, Women, Youth, Public Administration and Energy and Mines. Also more than allotted to the Chamber of Accounts, the Constitutional Court and the Electoral Court in the 2022 National Budget Bill submitted this week to Congress.
The Abinader government has been looking into ways to resolve the impasse over the contract. Lawyer Enmanuel Esquea, entrusted by the government to study the contract’s legitimacy, has found several flaws that he says could be used to disallow the contract.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
DR1 News
5 October 2021