Santiago de los Caballeros, DR.- The bloc of city council members from the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) questioned the management of Santiago City Hall over alleged deficiencies in garbage collection, a debt owed to the Employees’ Cooperative, and delays in projects included in the Participatory Budget.
During a news conference, Engel De Jesús, spokesperson for the PLD council members, said one of the main problems identified by the bloc concerns solid-waste collection services.
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The council members said there are areas where waste remains accumulated for days. In response, they proposed reorganizing routes and schedules, strengthening oversight of the companies responsible, and establishing a public system to inform residents when garbage collection is scheduled in each area.
The bloc also alleged that Santiago City Hall has an RD$26,590,000 debt with the Employees’ Cooperative, corresponding, according to its data, to four months of arrears.
The amounts presented by the council members were RD$3,432,717.65 for May; RD$7,581,492.37 for June; RD$7,702,847.48 for July; and RD$7,872,857.92 for August.
In response to those allegations, the PLD council members requested a financial reconciliation to establish the amounts deducted from workers, the resources transferred to the cooperative, and the balance that remains outstanding. They also proposed creating a payment plan with defined dates and amounts.
Another issue raised involved the 2026 Participatory Budget. The council members said projects approved as early as November 2025 were still in bidding processes during the second quarter of this year.
The communities mentioned by the council members included Yapurt Dumit, Embrujo I, Villa Hortensia, Miraflores and La Joya. The bloc questioned the move toward planning the 2027 Participatory Budget while, according to their claims, some communities are still waiting for previously approved projects.
The council members also addressed the intervention at Hospedaje Yaque. Although they welcomed the support of the Presidency of the Republic for the project, they requested that the budget, schedule, execution stages and percentage of progress be made public.
The bloc said its positions are part of its oversight function and indicated that it will continue monitoring public resources, public works and the municipal government’s administrative decisions under the powers established by Law 176-07.
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