Santo Domingo.– The Chamber of Deputies approved this Monday, in two consecutive readings, the bill that authorizes the payment of State debts corresponding to public works carried out by small contractors, as well as corrective maintenance work in educational centers, supervisions and paving work.
The initiative seeks to regularize, exceptionally and for one time only, the economic obligations derived from works executed without formal contracts or subject to budget reformulation, with the objective of guaranteeing transparency, legality and correct use of public funds.
The project recognizes as creditors of the State engineers, contracting companies and other executing entities included in the official list of the law, who carried out works that were duly completed, received and currently in operation in different communities in the country.
Extensive legislative debate
The approval occurred after an extensive debate in the chamber, in which deputies from the different political groups represented in the Chamber participated.
Before starting the discussions, the president of the legislative body, Alfredo Pachecoreported that representatives of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA) held meetings with the majority blocks to explain the scope and importance of the legislative piece.
Institutions included in the law
The regulations cover debts contracted by the State through several institutions, including the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC), the Ministry of Education (MINERD), the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI), the National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewage (INAPA), the Institute of Aid and Housing (INAVI), the Presidential Commission to Support Provincial Development (CPADP), the Central Electoral Board (JCE), the CAASD and the OISOE.
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Likewise, it includes commitments from the National Housing Institute (INVI) and INAVI, currently assumed by the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED), in addition to any other public entity contemplated in the official list of the law.
Impact on the construction sector
With the approval of this initiative, Congress seeks to respond to hundreds of small contractors who had pending payments for works already executed, while establishing a legal framework to close administrative processes that were in an irregular situation.
The piece of legislation now moves to the next stages of the constitutional process for its promulgation and entry into force.
