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President taps tainted officials for posts
Friday, August 20, 2004 Posted: 7:26 PM EDT (2326 GMT) SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Less than a week after his inauguration, President Leonel Fernandez has given top posts to four former officials charged with involvement in the disappearance of millions of dollars in public funds in the late 1990s. In other news, sun rises in east. Critics say the appointments contradict campaign promises to crack down on corruption as the Dominican Republic weathers its worst economic crisis in decades. Please note the complete and total disconnect between official corruption and their "worst economic crisis in decades." Sheesh, I don't mind inflation, but why does it have to hit right now, when prices are so high? The Fernandez administration has defended the officials, saying the allegations were politically motivated. Those poor folk, always stirring up trouble! All four served in the first Fernandez government from 1996 to 2000, and all have trials pending on charges stemming from the alleged disappearance of $100 million from the Temporary and Minimal Employment Program, a fund intended to create jobs and quell strikes. Hey, they created jobs, four of them to be precise. The program's ex-coordinator, Luis Inchausti, was arrested on embezzlement charges in 2001, and this week was named to the Cabinet post secretary of state without portfolio, traditionally a top presidential adviser. "You gotta show me all these tricks, Luis." "This is a bad start," Pedro Catrain, a political science professor at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, said Thursday. "Even if it turns out they are innocent, ethically Fernandez shouldn't have named them." "[A] bad start?" Try a catastrophe. The scandal broke in 2000 after an audit by the government Department for the Prevention of Corruption. Inchausti and three others were arrested the next year. Prosecutors said those other three were in positions to have known the money was taken and were negligent in not reporting it. One hand The others include former public works secretary Diandino Pena, now appointed to head a subway construction project; former administrative secretary Simon Lizardo, now the nation's top auditor; and former auditor Haivanjoe Ng Cortina, who will regulate the Santo Domingo Stock Exchange. Funny how that subway excavation turned out to be a black hole. Those three are charged with negligence, and like Inchausti, all say they are innocent. They are free pending trials that have yet to be scheduled. The court's docket is so crowded with traffic tickets that they may never get around to prosecuting these guys. At least, not until after the money's all spent. Corruption is a chronic problem in the Caribbean nation of 8.8 million people. A bank fraud scandal in 2003 cost the treasury US$2.2 billion and sent the economy into a tailspin. Fernandez was sworn in Monday after trouncing President Hipolito Mejia in the May election, promising a return to economic progress. President Fernandez is certainly making economic progress ... for himself. Fernandez, who presided over strong growth, left office in 2000 due to a single-term limit that was later rescinded. He denied wrongdoing in the embezzlement scandal, but his popularity suffered and his chosen successor Danilo Medina was easily defeated by Mejia in 2000. Now Fernandez has promised a clean administration and has accused Mejia's administration of widespread corruption. POT -> KETTLE -> BLACK The government says the four appointees have impeccable credentials and that politics is at the root of the charges. Too bad all those credentials have "Arthur Andersen" printed on them. "In this country, you are innocent until you are convicted and sentenced," said Hector Olivo, spokesman for Fernandez's Dominican Liberation Party. Drat that pesky backlog of parking tickets! No trial dates have been set for the four, but Fernandez's opponents are seizing on the appointments as an act tainting his government. "There are many others Fernandez could have chosen, This week, Fernandez also ordered the retirement of 97 generals from the armed forces, including Gen. Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez, the top military leader. Fernandez's designated leader, Adm. Sigfrido Pared Perez, has said fewer than 100 of the 202 total generals were needed. Dozens of officers were elevated to general under Mejia, and many served in largely honorary roles. Gotta weed out any disgruntled also-rans with access to guns. Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-21 |
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