标签： Dominican Republic

In a major step forward for public administration modernization in the Caribbean, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has officially unveiled the nation’s first completely digital Minor’s Exit Permit (PSM), an innovative online tool crafted to cut through red tape for traveling families and advance the government’s broader digital transformation agenda. This rollout marks a key milestone under the administration’s flagship Zero Bureaucracy Program, a sweeping initiative that targets the elimination of unnecessary administrative barriers and aims to cement the Dominican Republic’s position as one of Latin America’s most digitally advanced public sectors by 2028.

Unlike the outdated, paper-heavy system it replaces, the new digital platform empowers eligible parents and legal guardians to complete the entire exit authorization process remotely from any location across the globe. Gone are the requirements for in-person office visits, printed physical documentation, and days-long waiting periods that once plagued the permit application process. The new system integrates cutting-edge digital tools including biometric identity verification, legally recognized digital signatures, and electronic notarization, while also enabling seamless data interoperability with the country’s Central Electoral Board. This connected infrastructure allows the approved permit to be electronically linked directly to a minor’s passport, enabling instant digital validation at border checkpoints during travel.

Speaking at the official launch ceremony, President Abinader emphasized that the push to modernize government services is rooted in a core commitment to improving daily life for all Dominican citizens. By overhauling clunky outdated processes, the administration is delivering services that are not only more efficient, but also more transparent and secure for users. Senior government officials also outlined the shortcomings of the old system that made the overhaul necessary: for years, applicants faced extensive wait times, convoluted paperwork requirements, and in some cases, informal and formal costs that added up to as much as 30,000 Dominican pesos per application.

The complete redesign of the Minor’s Exit Permit service was a collaborative effort between the Dominican Republic’s General Directorate of Migration and the Zero Bureaucracy Program, with technical and financial support from global philanthropic organization Bloomberg Philanthropies. Officials used the launch event to tease upcoming reforms, confirming that additional high-impact government services — including new business registration and commercial construction permitting — will undergo the same full digital transformation in the coming months and years, as part of the nation’s long-term public sector modernization strategy.

In a striking demonstration of commitment to public service and marginalized communities, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has announced he will donate his entire 2025 presidential salary to 16 non-profit organizations and religious institutions across the country. The total contribution amounts to 5,344,000 Dominican pesos, all earmarked for social welfare programs designed to lift up vulnerable populations.

Each of the 16 recipient groups will receive an equal disbursement of 334,000 Dominican pesos, a decision aligned with Abinader’s long-stated pledge to direct all of his public earnings toward projects that deliver tangible social impact and raise living standards for citizens facing economic hardship.

The allocated funds are spread across a diverse set of high-priority areas, spanning community development, public health, child and youth welfare, vocational training, grassroots sports, and religious infrastructure upgrades. Community development projects receive the largest share of funding, totaling 2,338,000 Dominican pesos distributed across seven local organizations.

One key supported initiative is the Dominican Foundation for Integral Development (FUNDESI)’s vector-borne disease prevention campaigns, which target dengue, malaria, and Zika in high-risk low-income neighborhoods including Capotillo and Gualey. Other community-focused projects include the reconstruction of a rural healthcare clinic led by the Despertando Sonrisas Foundation, and the construction of new public recreational and community gathering spaces by the FUHUESAN Foundation and Colinas del Manzano Association.

For public health and disability support programming, 1,336,000 Dominican pesos has been set aside. This funding supports cleft lip and palate corrective surgery campaigns run by the Operation Smile Foundation, covers the down payment for a new emergency ambulance for the Huellas Misioneras Volunteer Program, sustains housing operations for low-income cancer patients managed by the Faces Dominicana Foundation, and expands in-home medical care services for stroke survivors through the Dominican Stroke Foundation.

Children and youth-focused initiatives receive a total allocation of 1,002,000 Dominican pesos. Funds will go toward therapeutic sponsorship programs and classroom accessibility modifications for children on the autism spectrum, run by the Manos Unidas por Autismo Foundation. Additional youth programming includes social inclusion activities for children in the municipality of Haina organized by FUNDECEV, and personal development workshops and skills training camps hosted by the Fundasocial Foundation.

Remaining funding supports two other causes: the MC Deportes Foundation will use its allocation to purchase athletic equipment for community volleyball and baseball tournaments, while the Santa Lucía Mártir Parish will put its contribution toward construction of a new perimeter fence and facility air conditioning upgrades.

The Dominican Presidency emphasized in its official statement that all donations are structured to deliver direct, publicly auditable impact across operations, equipment purchases, clinical services, and distribution of essential supplies to communities in need. Through this gesture, President Abinader has reaffirmed his commitment to partnering with grassroots organizations to reduce systemic social inequality and expand access to critical support services for vulnerable populations across the nation.

A public dispute over reciprocal financial obligations has erupted between Dominican Republic’s municipal governments and the country’s main electricity distribution companies (EDEs), with the nation’s top municipal association leader challenging recent claims that local governments owe hundreds of millions in unpaid power bills.

Speaking publicly this Wednesday, Nelson Núñez — who leads the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (Fedomu) and also holds the position of mayor of Samaná — pushed back against recent remarks from economist and former public official Celso Marranzini. Marranzini recently drew attention to the growing debt of municipal governments, arguing that unpaid electricity bills from local councils have become a massive strain on Dominican public finances, hitting a total of roughly US$300 million by last year.

While Núñez does not dismiss the existence of outstanding municipal payments for power used by public infrastructure and street lighting, he says the narrative that only local governments are in debt is deeply one-sided. He argues that the EDEs have themselves failed to uphold binding legal requirements laid out both in the country’s General Electricity Law 125-01 and a 2013 landmark ruling from the Dominican Constitutional Court.

That specific ruling, labeled TC/0100/13, establishes a clear reciprocal framework: electricity distributors are required to transfer 3% of all revenue they collect from customers within each municipal jurisdiction and municipal district to local governments every month. In exchange, local governments are legally obligated to cover the cost of electricity for public streetlights and municipal-owned public facilities.

Crucially, Núñez clarified that the 3% transfer is not an arbitrary tax imposed on power providers, as some critics have framed it. The Constitutional Court itself explicitly confirmed that the payment qualifies as a legally authorized compensation fee for municipalities, he noted.

Yet according to Fedomu’s records, the EDEs have failed to comply with this ruling consistently ever since it was issued in 2013. The cumulative sum that power distributors owe to municipalities across the country is “incalculable,” Núñez stated, and this long-running noncompliance has been a major contributing factor to the tight financial straits many local councils now face. The missing funds have made it especially difficult for municipalities to cover the very street lighting costs they are obligated to pay, exacerbating the current standoff over mutual debts.

Núñez closed by emphasizing that financial responsibilities run both ways: if municipalities owe the EDEs for power delivered, the power distributors owe municipalities for the legally mandated funds they have withheld for more than a decade.

LAS CALDERAS NAVAL BASE, PERAVIA – The Dominican Republic Navy has officially wrapped up three interconnected military training initiatives, including the annual Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET), Basic Diving Courses 011-012, and the Naval Special Forces Qualification Course (CCUFEN), during a formal closing ceremony hosted at its primary southern coastal installation.

The high-profile ceremony was presided over by Dominican Republic Defense Minister Lieutenant General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre, with senior leadership in attendance that included Vice Admiral Juan Bienvenido Crisóstomo Martínez, General Commander of the Dominican Navy, and Leah Francis Campos, the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Senior military stakeholders from across the Dominican Armed Forces General Staff and top-ranking Navy command staff also took part in the event, which centered on the tangible progress made in upgrading the Dominican Navy’s tactical and operational capacity.

In his keynote address to participating service members and assembled officials, Vice Admiral Crisóstomo Martínez underscored the outsized role that these structured multinational training programs play in boosting three critical pillars of naval readiness: cross-force interoperability, global defense cooperation, and the operational preparedness of Dominican naval special operations units to counter evolving maritime security and defense threats. He specifically highlighted the value of the longstanding defense partnership with the United States, noting that collaborative training frameworks create structured pathways to exchange frontline operational insights, updated military doctrine, and decades of tactical expertise between the two nations’ forces.

Following official remarks, the ceremony featured a live operational demonstration that put on display the specialized skills all participants mastered over the course of the training cycle. Trainees from the Dominican Navy joined operators from Alpha ODA 735, a team from the U.S. Army Green Berets, to execute tactical drills, showcasing the high level of coordinated readiness the joint program was designed to build.

Per Dominican Navy leadership, collaborative joint exercises like JCET are an indispensable component of the country’s efforts to reinforce national response capacity against a broad spectrum of transnational security challenges, ranging from maritime organized crime to large-scale search and rescue operations, as well as critical infrastructure protection. Each of the three training initiatives was tailored to target distinct, high-priority capability gaps: the Basic Diving Course focused on building foundational proficiencies in underwater operations, technical rescue procedures, maritime hazard mitigation, and specialized underwater naval missions, while the CCUFEN qualification program was structured to develop advanced special operations skill sets, including large-scale amphibious operations and direct-action special combat tactics.

Navy officials confirmed that these ongoing training programs are a core element of the service’s long-term institutional modernization and force strengthening strategy. The overarching goal of the initiative is to maintain a consistently high-readiness, fully trained maritime defense force capable of upholding Dominican national sovereignty and safeguarding the country’s extensive territorial maritime boundaries.