Cronies on payroll snarl Civil Aviation, Telecom agencies

Santo Domingo.- The corrupt practice of ballooning government payrolls with the cronies of senior officials has now affected the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC), whose director, Alexander Herrera, ordered a freeze in designations of “employees” known popularly as “botellas” (bottles), so named for being empty and just taking space in a rack.

A few months ago the same occurred in the Dominican Telecom Institute (Indotel), after former director Jose Rafael Vargas left the post and was elected to a Senate seat. The number of “botellas” grew to such a point that the streets around the entity have become full of vehicles that now don’t fit in its large parking lot.

Local media also report a similar situation in the Environment Ministry, where after Ernesto Reyna was designated the new chief, the number of people swelled and its parking lots packed, with many vehicles now using the median in the dangerously busy Luperon avenue.

Herrera said the measure will be in effect until January and attributes it to audits conducted in IDAC, aimed at establishing the functions of the different departments and the number of people for each

Herrera’s memo to departmental heads asks them to abstain from designating personnel, including the airports, and adds that the measure also seeks to save money, to be used to meet IDAC’s other needs.