Deputies seek to create the Ministry of the Border

Santo Domingo.- In the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies last Wednesday, May 21, a bill seeking to create the Ministry of the Border was taken into consideration and sent for study to the Permanent Border Commission.

The proposal is presented under the claim of reversing decades of abandonment, structural poverty, and institutional fragmentation in this area of the country, according to the proponents of the initiative, led by Congressman Luis Castillo Ogando, representative of the province of Elías Piña.

The initiative has the signature of about 25 deputies from the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), as well as from the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and the People’s Force (FP). However, it contradicts the spirit of the current government, which has promoted the reduction of public institutions and the containment of public spending.

According to the proponents, this new state entity seeks to consolidate itself as the governing body for the economic, social, human, and cultural development of the border provinces, replacing multiple scattered instances that, for years, would not have achieved the required impact in the territories they represent.

Currently, there are several institutions in the country that work directly in this area, including: the General Directorate of Border Development, the Coordinating Council for the Application of Law 28-01 which regulates the Special Border Development Zone, the National Border Council, the General Directorate for the Promotion of Border Communities and the Binational Monitoring Commission for Development Projects. This multiplicity has caused, in the opinion of the legislators, that the efforts and resources do not have a significant impact.

In a consultation for De Último Minuto, the deputy of the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP), Ramón Antonio Pérez, president of the Border Commission and member of the bloc of legislators who support the initiative, considered that the creation of this new ministry represents “a strategic step” to reduce institutional dispersion and promote the development of the border. He announced that there is consensus in the commission to issue a favorable report in this regard.

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For her part, Senator Ginnette Altagracia Bournigal, from the province of Puerto Plata, showed her opposition to the creation of the ministry. She stated that, at a time when the merger of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development with the Ministry of Finance is being considered, there is no room for the creation of new instances at that level.

The senators from the border provinces consulted by De Último Minuto indicated that they will thoroughly study the initiative before establishing a definitive position on the matter.