107 construction professionals are engaged in a constant struggle, demanding that government authorities pay them 385 million pesos that the State owes them for services rendered in their role as contractors.
SANTO DOMINGO.- Seeking to get the Luis Abinader government to respond to their demand for payment, a group of contracting engineers is calling for a new demonstration in front of the Ministry of Finance.
The invitation comes from the Codiano Institutional Committee (CIC) for tomorrow, Tuesday, October 11th, at 10:00 a.m. The new protest, dubbed a "sit-in," is planned to take place at the location because, according to the protesters, that entity is handling their cases.
“The CIC and the Collection Committee are pleased to invite you to the protest to demand payment of the debt owed by the State to engineers, architects and small construction companies,” the announcement states.
Complaints that go unheard
107 construction professionals are engaged in a constant struggle, demanding that government authorities pay them 385 million pesos that the State owes them for services rendered in their role as contractors.
The plaintiffs state that this is a commitment made by the Dominican State 26 years ago for works carried out in twelve government institutions. They assert that these works were formally contracted, constructed, measured, properly supervised, and put into service since 1996.
“Mr. President, we have waited two years for your campaign promise to be fulfilled. We have lost nine colleagues due to this inconsistency. We want to be paid while we are still alive,” the professionals stated in their complaint.
They said that Abinader made the promise that upon taking office, he would honor the payment and settlement of the debt, “a promise that revived in us a true hope, which continued to grow, when in response to our communication in October 2020, you responded by forming a Technical Commission, headed by Minister Geanilda Vásquez Almánzar, to coordinate and follow up on our payment claims.”.
In their repeated requests, they earnestly ask the president to begin the payment process in order to put an end to "a quarter of a century of suffering and disregard, family disintegrations and deaths of which we have been victims at the hands of the nefarious previous governments.".
According to their information, the cases have been filed with the Ministry of Finance, so their fight will move to that government agency tomorrow.
About the CIC
The Codiano Institutional Committee (CIC) is an organization that has been created to fight in defense of the interests of engineering professionals.
It is made up of Emiliano Familia, Aníbal Rincón, Nelson Núñez, Ovidio Rosario, Félix Miceli, Samuel Peña, Pedro Troncoso, Ana Cristina de los Santos, Elias Pérez, Manuel Reyes, Buenaventura García, Dominica Mojica, Isis Pérez, José Torres, Julio César Nin, Ricardo Mariñez, Anny Nadal, Diógenes Zapata and Martha Aponte.
