No more shakedowns in Dominican government agencies: Guild

Santo Domingo.- TheDominican Engineers, Architects and Surveyors Guild (CODIA) on Monday asked theGovernment to pay the installments and establish contracts to put an end to the"shakedowns and extortion in government agencies," after an architectreportedly took his own life at the State Works Supervisory Engineers Office (OISOE),allegedly on debts resulting from late payments in the construction of a school.

CODIA presidentFrancisco Mosquea said in addition to withheld payments contractors haveproblems of changed contracts while the works are being executed, and on lines ofcredit which he affirms the guild opposes, “because if the government paid him theinstallments on time, the now deceased arquitect wouldn’t have had to resort toother sources of funding.”

Quoted by diariolibre.comMosquea asked to meet with Government agencies to deal with, and find solutionsto the problems he says are faced by state contractors.

"We know that ifthe installments stipulated in contracts are paid as such these problems ceaseto exist because it leads to desperation, since the contractor has contracteddebts and commitments, and installments are not paid on time," said thehead of CODIA.

Late architect

David Rodrigueztook his life in a bathroom at OISOE offices on Friday, leaving a noterevealing desperation for loans taken from a current and a former OISOE employee. He was remodelinga school in Monte Plata at the time of the tragedy.