The new citizens' body will monitor the financial execution of DO Sostenible, the entity that manages the funds raised
SANTO DOMINGO.– Following the implementation of changes to the solid waste management financing scheme, the Government created a citizens' commission tasked with monitoring the use of resources managed by the DO Sostenible, which is responsible for managing funds from the special contribution established by current legislation.
According to Decree 498-26, issued by President Luis Abinader, the new Citizen Oversight Commission will have the functions of observation, monitoring and formulation of recommendations on the physical and financial execution of the programs financed with these resources.
The measure incorporates a citizen oversight mechanism over a trust that manages funds intended to finance projects related to the comprehensive management of solid waste, a policy that has an impact on various productive sectors, including construction and real estate development.
It will monitor how resources are used
According to the decree, the commission will verify that the resources managed by DO Sostenible are used exclusively for the purposes provided for in the General Law of Comprehensive Management and Co-processing of Solid Waste and its amendments.
You can also request information from the Trust Council and the trustee, receive comments and complaints from citizens, local governments, recyclers, companies and organizations linked to the sector, and prepare periodic reports on your findings.
According to the document, one of these reports must be published annually on the trust's official website, as part of the actions aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability.
Monitoring without replacing the control bodies
The report specifies that the commission will have an advisory and honorary character, and therefore will not replace the functions of the Trust Council or the State's oversight bodies.
Its responsibilities include monitoring the execution of funded projects, verifying compliance with recommendations derived from audits, and proposing measures to improve transparency, institutional integrity, and access to public information.
Likewise, its members must sign an ethical commitment before assuming their functions, declaring the absence of conflicts of interest and their duty of confidentiality.
Five members
According to Decree 498-26, the commission will be coordinated by Alliet Ortega and will also include Manuel García Arévalo, Giselle Pérez Reyes, Roberto Despradel Catrain and Ruth de los Santos.
The regulations stipulate that members were selected based on criteria of independence and moral integrity.
A new step in the implementation of the law
According to the Executive Branch's arguments in the preamble to the decree, the creation of this commission responds to the principles of transparency, access to public information and citizen participation contemplated in the Constitution, the Law on Free Access to Public Information, the Law on Public Trusts and the General Law on Comprehensive Management and Co-processing of Solid Waste.
The Government maintains that the objective is to strengthen public trust in the administration of the resources that finance the national waste management policy, through a citizen monitoring mechanism on the execution of the Sustainable DO trust.
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