SANTO DOMINGO.-The Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) reported yesterday that in the last four years more than 500 kilometers of asphalt have been laid, 103,000 mosquito breeding sites have been eliminated, 743,000 homes have been fumigated, and 14 million gallons of drinking water have been distributed, positively impacting millions of people in the National District and the province of Santo Domingo and the rest of the country.
While leading a meeting with representatives from more than 300 neighborhood associations in Greater Santo Domingo, the head of the entity, Deligne Ascención, detailed that in the National District some 180 kilometers of asphalt were laid, in Santo Domingo North 160 kilometers, in Santo Domingo East 120 kilometers and in Santo Domingo West 45 kilometers of streets.
“Throughout the country we have fumigated some 743,000 homes and eliminated 103,000 mosquito breeding grounds and distributed over 14.5 million gallons of drinking water in different communities over the past four years,” he reported.
Community members who attended the meeting. (External source).
He mentioned that he plans to pave every street and alley in Greater Santo Domingo, which will be done with funds from the economic agreement reached with Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo 21 (AERODOM).
"I want to emphasize that it is a commitment from the President of the Republic, which we have the responsibility to honor, that all the streets in the municipalities of Santo Domingo be paved. And I want to reveal here that a good part of the resources we are using for paving come from the negotiations that the President made with AERODOM. That is why the President told me, 'I want you to focus on the area of Santo Domingo East, Santo Domingo North, and all that area where there is an airport, so that the money generated by these airports is invested in these people who only see the planes fly by and who have not had any benefit,'" the official stated.
During the meeting, held at the MOPC club, Deligne Ascención explained the importance of listening directly to the needs of their respective communities, in the voices of community leaders, since they are the ones who live there and represent their residents.
He said that the organization he heads will, to the best of its ability, follow up on their demands, which will be addressed in order of priority for the benefit of all.
“We are going to evaluate each of these requests and together with you we are going to establish an order of priority and intervention because there are not enough resources to respond to all the needs of Greater Santo Domingo at the same time,” he stated.
The official explained that through the Ministry's social programs and the Military and Police Commission, hundreds of homes have been repaired and medical operations have been carried out that have impacted numerous low-income communities throughout the country.
Deligne Ascension. (External source).
He pointed out that the MOPC has 10 or 12 medical specialties and that they are concerned with having high quality medicine and that is why when they go to those operations that have been carried out at the national level they have effectively helped a population lacking services.
In addition to the minister, the meeting was attended by the vice ministers Roberto Herrera, Ángel Tejada, Melito Santana, Tomasina Pascual, Luis Bastardo; Major General Rafael Vásquez Espinolas, director of the Military and Police Commission, Yasmina Veras, director of Social Programs and Alex Ramírez, Financial Director of the MOPC.
