Historically, the Dominican Republic has been a country with a market where speculation often dictates the prices of its products, and where with just a little breeze, businesses react to storms and increase prices lightly and without justification.
The National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (PRO CONSUMIDOR) is the state agency responsible for establishing and regulating the policies, standards, and procedures necessary for the effective protection of consumer rights in the country.
But the "attempts" of that organization always fall short and, with few exceptions, its actions amount to nothing more than public relations, while the avalanche of ruthless commerce continues its course, accustomed to acting without limits or regulations and where the culture of winning at the expense of a silent people, who have lost all capacity for wonder, is fostered.
It is certainly true that construction material prices have risen due to various factors. COVID-19 disrupted the world order, generating an unexpected crisis for which no country was prepared. A catastrophe of that magnitude could not go unnoticed. We all prepared for the foreseeable consequences that a general lockdown would unleash.
The mandatory halt of cargo transport from China, the country where the first case of the virus originated, and the increase in freight costs; among obvious reasons, began to produce an upward escalation in products at a general level, and of which the construction sector has remained at the front line.
All the materials needed to construct a building have risen to alarming levels. An endless string of price increases is recorded every week, and amidst press releases, complaints, and pronouncements, the government has remained silent on the situation, which threatens to jeopardize the homes of many Dominican families.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has provided the perfect opportunity for price increases to continue their unchecked course. Steel, which might be somewhat justifiable given that some of it comes from Ukraine, is selling for 83,000 pesos per bundle. Construction workers consulted by this newspaper stated that just a year ago it cost 55,000 pesos and that during the height of the pandemic, the price rose without any justification.
Cement, the main material involved in the construction process, continues its upward climb and its price is expected to increase again by between 15 and 20%, if it hasn't already by this point in the week.
Each sector will look for reasons for its price increases, some justified, others exaggerated and even abusive; and all will appeal to their own interests because no one will want to put their capital and profits at risk; besides, speculators are having a field day and have to take advantage of misfortunes to profit because that is their specialty.
As always, the one who will bear the heaviest burden is the homeowner, the one who has postponed plans and added extra hours to extend his income and ensure a roof for his family and his old age, and who will have to undo his dream of achieving his own home.
The associations representing the construction sector issued a statement last Tuesday, submitting a series of proposals to the government to mitigate the effects of the imminent rise in housing prices.
The government must react immediately and seek alternatives to curb the significant price increases in construction materials that occur week after week and which will undoubtedly affect the dynamism and growth of the sector during 2022 and, of course, jeopardize many Dominican families whose plans to buy a home—a basic good and a right that belongs to every human being—will be thwarted.
It is pointless to have created a Ministry of Housing and announced with great fanfare housing programs to counteract the housing deficit in the country, if the current festival of increases continues, where one increase drags down several, and in a country with a commerce acting freely and without control.
