- CAF presented its 2025 Economy and Development Report in the Dominican Republic, which highlights the need to strengthen the capacities of local governments to close territorial gaps and better respond to citizen demands.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – The 2025 Economic and Development Report highlights that the Dominican Republic is a country with a low level of decentralization, similar to that of other Central American and Caribbean nations. Its territorial structure is made up of 158 municipalities and 235 municipal districts, the latter functioning as subdivisions of municipalities. The process of creating new local jurisdictions since the 1990s has resulted in young institutions with ample room to strengthen their capacities and consolidate their role.
“ Our region needs to work more at the local level to correct the socioeconomic imbalances and challenges facing our cities. The local level of government is closest to citizens, and that’s why at CAF we want to strengthen the competencies and resources of subnational governments with new technical and financial tools,” said Sergio Díaz-Granados, CAF’s executive president.
“ As mayor, I have seen firsthand how local investment transforms places. We can see how a project impacts and transforms life in our municipalities. We need to take a step forward; we need decentralization to become a state policy. We must continue promoting solutions in our territories,” said Carolina Mejía Gómez, mayor of the National District of Santo Domingo.
According to the report, among the country’s main challenges are territorial gaps in key indicators, such as the secondary school completion rate, which varies between 20 and 64 percent across jurisdictions. The report also highlights the high population concentration in Santo Domingo, where nearly 40% of the population resides, underscoring the need to strengthen local governments’ capacities to manage development and respond to citizen demands in complex urban contexts.
Regarding organizational capacities, the report highlights the importance of developing local civil servants, who currently represent nearly 10% of public employment. To achieve this, in addition to strengthening the drive toward digitalization of the public sector, the report also includes local governments in its strategy.
The report concludes that strengthening the capacities of local governments is fundamental to the well-being of the population and requires concerted efforts from both subnational governments and the national government. CAF supports this decentralization and institutional strengthening agenda in the Dominican Republic and the region by financing investment projects, providing technical cooperation, and offering a wide range of training for public officials.
CAF’s Economy and Development Report (RED), entitled “Close Solutions: Subnational State Capacities for Development,” annually analyzes a key development issue in Latin America and the Caribbean. This year’s edition is dedicated to the importance of strengthening the capacities of local and regional governments (LRGs) to improve population well-being and close territorial gaps. The RED argues that the effectiveness of the state increasingly depends on its different levels of government—national, intermediate, and local—having the tools, resources, and skills necessary to provide quality public services in a manner that is close to citizens.
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