Government-by-Government Assessments: Dominican Republic
During the review period, the government’s budget and information on debt obligations were widely and easily accessible to the general public, including online. The end-of-year report, however, was incomplete. The enacted budget was substantially complete and considered generally reliable. Major state-owned enterprises, notably the electricity distribution and transmission company, Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales, did not have publicly available audited financial statements, and there is limited debt information available on the Dominican Petroleum Refinery. The Dominican Republic’s supreme audit institution reviewed the government’s accounts; however, its independence is limited, and its most recent report was incomplete and not publicly available. The criteria and procedures by which the national government awards licenses and contracts for natural resource extraction were outlined in law and appeared to be followed in practice. Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was public. The Dominican Republic’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:
- ensuring the financial statements of significant, large state-owned enterprises are publicly available;
- disclosing all major state-owned enterprise debt;
- ensuring the independence of its supreme audit institution;
- completing the most recent audit report; and
- making the most recent audit report publicly available.