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Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Alliance Against Corruption (ADOCCO) has made serious accusations against the country's Chamber of Accounts, alleging significant misappropriation of public funds. According to the organization, the chamber has spent more than RD$140 million in each of the less than 40 audits carried out in the last four years.
The Audit Chamber, an independent government body responsible for overseeing public spending, has received substantial budget allocations in recent years. However, ADOCCO claims that the chamber has not achieved consistent results and that many audits were incomplete or yielded inconclusive results.
Julio César De la Rosa Tiburcio, president of ADOCCO, criticized the chamber's performance and stated: “The Accounts Chamber has received hundreds of millions of pesos in recent years, but the results of its work simply do not justify the expense. It appears that the chamber has focused more on protecting the interests of corrupt officials than on serving the public interest.”
A closer look at the chamber's activities reveals a troubling pattern of inefficiency and lack of accountability. In 2021, despite receiving a budget of RD$1,673,918,968.58, the chamber managed to complete only 10 audits, many of which were carried out on institutions that had already been audited in previous years.
The situation worsened in 2022, when the chamber selected 79 institutions to conduct audits but failed to complete a single one. Instead, the court prioritized concluding investigations requested by the Special Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (PEPCA) and completing audits from previous years.
ADOCCO has called for a thorough investigation into the operations of the Accounts Chamber and for those responsible for any misappropriation of public funds to be held accountable. The organization has also urged the Dominican Congress to take measures to reform the Chamber of Accounts and ensure that it is more effective in its mission to eradicate corruption.
The allegations raised by ADOCCO highlight the urgent need for greater transparency and accountability in the Dominican Republic's public sector. The country's citizens deserve a Chamber of Accounts that is committed to protecting their interests and ensuring that public funds are used responsibly.
