SANTO DOMINGO. -The Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, announced yesterday the creation of a citizen observation committee for the bidding process of two projects related to the Trust for the Development of the Mass Transit System of the Dominican Republic (Fitram).
A press release indicates that the Ministry of the Presidency (Minpre) issued resolution no. Minpre-2024-3, through which it establishes an ad-hoc citizen observation committee for the Fitram-CCC-LPN-2024-0001 and Fitram-CCC-LPN-fitram tenders.
The document explains that tender 0001 corresponds to the contracting of the design, manufacture, construction, assembly and commissioning of line 3 of the aerial cable system for the mass public transport of passengers of Santo Domingo Oeste, while 0002 deals with the contracting of the construction of infrastructures of the Metropolitan Train of Santo Domingo.
Paliza took the measure, the first of his administration, in his capacity as president of the Fitram Technical Committee, in accordance with decree 514-21, whose article 7 provides that this entity will have a technical committee made up, among others, of the Minister of the Presidency - as president.
Members
The Ad-hoc Citizen Observation Committee is made up of Franklin Báez Brugal, a renowned and prominent Dominican businessman; José David Vargas, an engineer with a long career; and Pedro Silverio, economic advisor to the Executive Branch, who will collaborate on an honorary basis.
Functions
The committee's functions will be to monitor and follow up on each of the phases and/or stages of the contracting processes ref. Fitram-CCC-LPN-2024-0001 and Fitram-CCC-LPN-2024-0002.
Similarly, it has the authority to submit follow-up reports for each of the phases and/or stages of the aforementioned tenders, the press release adds.
"At the proposal of the Ministry of the Presidency, Fernando Henríquez will provide technical and legal assistance to the Ad-hoc Citizen Observation Committee. Once the bidders are known, in case of conflict of interest, the members of the committee must disclose it to the rest of the members and to the highest authority.".
The aforementioned resolution stipulates that other personalities will be integrated into the Ad-hoc Committee and grants the members the power to propose and/or request the hiring of local or international experts with a view to completing their work.
The resolution instructs Fitram to provide the necessary diligence and cooperation so that the Ad-hoc Citizen Observation Committee can effectively carry out its work within the framework of the principles of autonomy, objectivity, probity, and accountability. According to a statement issued by Paliza, the measure reflects the commitment to continue promoting transparency in government functions, especially regarding strategic public investment projects.
Similarly, it seeks to contribute to compliance with applicable regulations, especially the public procurement law and the "Fitram Purchase and Contracting Regulations.".
