President of the Chamber of Deputies announces the elimination of the "slush funds"
The money will be given to institutions that offer healthcare services
Tania Molina
SANTO DOMINGO. With a long preamble, in which he numbered the multiple obligations of the deputies and the "wicked and unfair" criticisms that they receive, Abel Martinez, the president of the Lower Chamber announced yesterday his decision to eliminate immediately what is called "the Fund for Social Management", popularly known as the "little barrel" - what are called slush funds in the United States. The resources of these funds, that the legislators handled at their own discretion, will now go to health institutions which provide service to the neediest sectors of the country, according to what Martinez said.
He estimated that there will be some RD $100 million that the deputies will not receive and that since these resources are already contained in the 2015 budget, he asked President Danilo Medina that they be reassigned to other entities that need them.
"November and December remain of this year. Those resources will be donated to health institutions all over the country after a survey of their needs, so that they can assist persons with little resources," he said. Under the title of "Fund of Social Administration" the deputies handled each month RD $50,000 pesos and, according to them the money was used to deliver gifts to the electors. The questioning of the use of those resources was frequent in different social sectors which felt that this is not a function for which the legislators were elected.
As he made the announcement of the elimination of the "little barrel", Martinez said to his legislative colleagues: "I am not going to ask that you understand me, but rather that you support me."
Their reactions were not long in coming, and among the deputies consulted, all showed that they were in favor of the measure, some expressing that with this decision they removed great deal of the pressure that they receive from persons who are always asking for something.
For Deputy Minou Tavarez Mirabal it was something required, and she called on the Senate to eliminate those budgetary items destined to activities that do not really correspond to legislators.
"What has to be done is to remove the budget items of the Chamber of Deputies and that the Central Government should be the entity that determines to which institutions those funds are going to be sent."
The deputy who has the most chores
Before the announcement of eliminating the "little barrel", Abel Martinez reviewed the work of the deputies over the last years during which he has been the president of the Chamber and he found that there had been positive results that should make them feel proud of belonging to that chamber. He stressed that each Dominican always thinks that the deputies, whether it is to create or change a law, as they also think about the deputies when they have to cover the expenses of school, when a relative dies, they have to buy a medical prescription. "And the deputies have never turned their back...... As deputies we have been the object of many criticisms, many. Vicious and without reason, unfair.... The deputy of the Dominican Republic is one of those who produces the most and who has the most chores. Even spraying (crops) and a helping to celebrate marriages," Martinez said as he defended his colleagues.
He estimated that there will be some RD $100 million that the deputies will not receive and that since these resources are already contained in the 2015 budget, he asked President Danilo Medina that they be reassigned to other entities that need them.
"November and December remain of this year. Those resources will be donated to health institutions all over the country after a survey of their needs, so that they can assist persons with little resources," he said. Under the title of "Fund of Social Administration" the deputies handled each month RD $50,000 pesos and, according to them the money was used to deliver gifts to the electors. The questioning of the use of those resources was frequent in different social sectors which felt that this is not a function for which the legislators were elected.
As he made the announcement of the elimination of the "little barrel", Martinez said to his legislative colleagues: "I am not going to ask that you understand me, but rather that you support me."
Their reactions were not long in coming, and among the deputies consulted, all showed that they were in favor of the measure, some expressing that with this decision they removed great deal of the pressure that they receive from persons who are always asking for something.
For Deputy Minou Tavarez Mirabal it was something required, and she called on the Senate to eliminate those budgetary items destined to activities that do not really correspond to legislators.
"What has to be done is to remove the budget items of the Chamber of Deputies and that the Central Government should be the entity that determines to which institutions those funds are going to be sent."
The deputy who has the most chores
Before the announcement of eliminating the "little barrel", Abel Martinez reviewed the work of the deputies over the last years during which he has been the president of the Chamber and he found that there had been positive results that should make them feel proud of belonging to that chamber. He stressed that each Dominican always thinks that the deputies, whether it is to create or change a law, as they also think about the deputies when they have to cover the expenses of school, when a relative dies, they have to buy a medical prescription. "And the deputies have never turned their back...... As deputies we have been the object of many criticisms, many. Vicious and without reason, unfair.... The deputy of the Dominican Republic is one of those who produces the most and who has the most chores. Even spraying (crops) and a helping to celebrate marriages," Martinez said as he defended his colleagues.
Tania Molina
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