Industry leader says ´perverse mafia´ erodes transparency

Dominican Republic.- Herreraand Santo Domingo Province Industrial Association (AEIH) president Antonio Taverason Sunday warned of an emerging "mafia of perverse creativity" whichthreatens the efforts in transparency by the Procurement and Contracting Directorateand other government agencies.

He urged the networkof overseers in government agencies to carry out their duty to report, to theofficials and the public, the excesses detected in purchasing processes.

Taveras said public denouncementscontribute to strengthen transparency in public administration, because"cheating officials" look the other way, shuffling things when theoverseers seek answers and only react if they see their scams publiclydenounced.

"It’s time to establisha hard campaign for society to stop this decay, it is essential that supplierstake responsibility, to report any detected scams, not leaving it to the PublicProcurement and Contracting Directorate alone," he said.

The business leadersaid society appreciates the efforts for transparency in public procurement andthe initiative to establish oversight committees in government institutions toguarantee purchase transactions without corruption.

He stressed howeverthat the "perverse mafia” has shown a high capacity to overpower the goodwill and intentions of government agencies which have adhered to transparencyand the work of civil society´s overseers.