DR1 Daily News - Monday, 18 July 2016

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Inspection sticker annulled for vehicle circulation
Pay your traffic fine, or no good conduct paper
Simplify how small business pays taxes
Electricity boards cost RD$136 million a year
Hard Rock announced 40 floors; community says 23 floors
Haiti is worst ranked on Fragile States Index
RD$260 million in seized smuggled goods
Dead whale washes up on Barahona shore
Tournament to help fund Willy Pumarol?s golf career
Nick Hardt wins 25th Merengue Cup
Children?s Film Festival this month


Inspection sticker annulled for vehicle circulation
The director of the Ground Transit Agency (DGTT) Luis Estrella announced the elimination of the so-named ?revista.? With the announcement, he accepts what is general knowledge: the ?revista? or vehicle inspection pass sticker is but another tax and does not serve to eliminate from circulation vehicles that are not fit to be on Dominican roads.
Estrella said that for the measure to serve its purpose, a true system including workshops authorized to certify vehicles, needs to be created. He responded to an editorial in Listin Diario that said the charge was useless given the large number of junk vehicles in circulation that show the inspection decal.
Estrella said the sticker would not be required until the Traffic Law 241-67 is changed and the new system is created. He said in advanced countries the inspection pass stickers are not required for vehicles five years or less.
Estrella was critical that because of the effective inspection mechanisms and regulations, the tax agency, DGII is issuing registration and license plates to vehicles that are not in conditions to be in circulation. He acknowledged that the high number of junk vehicles in circulation increase contamination and higher traffic accident risks.
Moreover, Estrella noted there are more than 50,000 vehicles that are not road-worthy and should be removed from circulation. The owners of these vehicles and their unions argue that these vehicles are providing much needed transportation for thousands of passengers. But Estrella concluded that sooner or later these jalopies will have to be taken out of circulation and replaced by modern buses.
Estrella advocates for the creation of the Ministry of Transit, Transport and Road Safety to integrate all the government institutions that have a role in the transportation sector. He said all the agencies that now have a role should become departments of the proposed Ministry to avoid duplication of roles.
Furthermore, Estrella criticized that at present not only can drivers renew vehicle registrations despite these being junk, but drivers can also renew their licenses without paying outstanding fines. He said this is because this type of provision is not contained in Law 241-67.
Estrella criticized that the Attorney General Office is now obliging people to pay their outstanding traffic fines as a requirement for receiving their good conduct permit. Estrella says this converts traffic violations into a criminal offenses.
He called the present Traffic Courts ?marketplaces?.
Observing that Dominicans when living abroad follow all the rules, here he says the problem is cultural. He says that much of the traffic violations are a result of a deep set bias against locally following the rules of the road. For example, it is simply accepted that motorcyclists can drive without a license.
Citing statistics, Estrella pointed out that of the more than 1,600,000 motorcyclists operating in the country, barely 50,000 have a driver?s license. Estrella explained that experience showed that around 90% of those motorcycle drivers who do not possess a license would fail the written test, given the low literacy levels of the general population.
Estrella pointed out that given this reality, in 2011 his office agreed to change the requirement for the motorcyclists. Instead of a written exam, the motorcycle drivers were required to attend a series of driver education talks. Shortly after, the DGTT noted a steady decline in the number of motorcycle drivers applying to be licensed. He said they determined the decline was because it had become apparent to many motorcycle drivers that there was no need to attend the training to get their license, because the government was not going to enforce the law.
Estrella advocated for the transportation law to be modified to require truck drivers to take a psychological test to receive their license.
The DGTT notes that in the National District alone, there are 2.5 vehicles per person, which explains the traffic jams in Santo Domingo. The Dominican Republic ranks number one in Latin America in the number of traffic accidents and deaths.
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...legal-senala-director-transito-terrestre.html
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...ncionar-infracciones-son-un-fracaso-YK4378818
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...18/revista-para-vehiculo-sera-cosa-del-pasado

Pay your traffic fine, or no good conduct paper
The Attorney General Office has collected RD$26 million in past due traffic fines after tying the issuing of good conduct permits to the payment of outstanding fines. Of the 52,911 no past criminal record certificates issued in June 2016 alone, the RD$26,455,500 was collected. Of the 34,945 permits issued, 66% were requested online.
The no past criminal record or good conduct permit costs RD$500 and can be paid at any branch of the Banco Reservas or by credit card online.
The main office for the service is located at Centro de Atencion al Ciudadano at the Malecon Center of the Malecon.
Recently, the Attorney General Office developed a digitized access to these services at http://www.servicios.mp.gob.do
The director of the Ground Transport Agency, Luis Terrero, said during a TV interview that the intent of the Attorney General?s office to deny the good conduct certificate to those with outstanding traffic fines is illegal.
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...tas-no-se-obtendra-el-papel-de-buena-conducta
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...legal-senala-director-transito-terrestre.html

Simplify how small business pays taxes
Representatives of small business urge the government take advantage of the upcoming Fiscal Pact talks to simplify the payment of taxes for small business. At present the complexity of the system requires the hiring of expert accountants at a high cost to the small companies. As explained the complexity is a greater obstacle to the small business than the tax payment itself.
The request was made by representatives of the Dominican Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Business (Codopyme) in a meeting with the Hoy media group.
The small business representatives advocate for a single simple form where businesses can file their taxes all on the same date. They also criticized the advance payments required, indicating that small business is not profitable all the time.
To date more than 50% of small business operates in the informal sector. The complexities and high cost of complying with the tax system are one of the reasons mentioned by many to not legally organize the business.
http://hoy.com.do/piden-simplificacion-pago-de-impuesto-este-contemplado-en-pacto-fiscal/

Electricity boards cost RD$136 million a year
The government spends RD$105.5 million a year to pay wages of the 45 members appointed to the administration board of seven of eight government entities that oversee the electric sector in the country.
When the additional employees (drivers, secretaries, assistants, security officers and advisors) are added up the total cost is around RD$136 million a year.
The wages of these privileged persons range from RD$150,000 to RD$596,546 a year, with an average wage of RD$185,062.
The boards are:
Corporaci?n Dominicana de Empresas Electricas Estatales (CDEEE), Superintendencia de Electricidad (SIE), Empresa de Transmision Electrica (ETED), Empresa de Generacion Hidroelectrica Dominicana (EGEHID), Unidad de Electrificacion Rural y Sub-urbana (UERS), Empresa Distribuidora de Electricidad del Este (Edeeste), Empresa Distribuidora de Electricidad del Norte (Edenorte) and Empresa Distribuidora de Electricidad del Sur (Edesur).
http://hoy.com.do/consejos-sector-electrico-un-gasto-de-rd125-mm-al-ano/

Hard Rock announced 40 floors; community says 23 floors
In January 2016, Hard Rock International announced the construction of a 40-story hotel in Santo Domingo. However, the Poligono Central community where the hotel would be located is at odds with the promoters of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Santo Domingo over the number of proposed stories and the construction of a casino that would be the largest in the Caribbean. The current zone regulations limit construction to 23 stories.
The hotel is under construction at the intersection of Av. Abraham Lincoln and Calle Andres Julio Aybar. The hotel and casino construction company is already in the process of demolishing and excavating at the site.
With the social impact and construction permission pending, the required public forum (vista publica) was held on Friday, 15 July 2016, where the community attended to hear and debate the project. This public forum is part of the on-going construction consent procedure and project oversight that must be submitted to the Ministry of the Environment to receive permission to build the hotel in the city center. Getting formal community approval for the project is a requirement.
Representatives of several community boards object to the extra floors and the mega casino. In the Dominican Republic, prior to the Ministry of Environment giving its go-ahead for the construction to begin, the project needs to receive the approval of the affected communities.
On Friday, 15 July 2016, the start of the first presentation was delayed by more than an hour when several community leaders noted that officials of the Ministry of Environment were not present. Eventually, Eva Zunilda Espinosa (in charge of public screenings) and David Arias (director of the Office of Access to Information and Social Participation) of the Ministry of Environment arrived and the meeting began.
During the meeting, Empaca, the company hired by the Hard Rock Hotel promoters to conduct the environmental impact assessment, made a presentation that focused on the procedures that were followed in order to develop the assessment. Mario Mendez for Empaca also showed slides with the no-objection from the City Government (ADN) for the demolition and excavation works. At the presentation, Mendez presented no-objection letters from the city waterworks (CAASD) and the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur).
When the public debates were opened, architect Omar Rancier, director of the UNPHU School of Architecture, pointedly asked that the company present details of the project to the people in attendance. He noted the presentation made focused on promoting the environmental impact company and was not the complete presentation of the project that had been expected. Rancier made the point that the letters of no-objection shown by Empaca were not approvals, as he called for the company to comply with the Poligono Central city regulation 94-98.
The architect of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Carlos Aguilar, then took the podium and used a single visual perspective of the hotel to verbally try to explain the project. He said seven floors of underground parking were under construction for approximately 500 vehicles. His generalizations were not acceptable to the public.
In response to the calls for more information, Ramon Colombo, who was the coordinator of the meeting for the environmental impact company, read the short press release Empaca had prepared that highlighted the project was 30-stories high and again offered only some general descriptions of the project. Citing a lack of details, most community residents in attendance voiced their opposition to the presentation.
At that time, Aguilar pointed out to the skeptical audience, that Colombo had misspoken and that in fact, the company is proposing that the building reach 38 stories, not the 30-stories as presented.
By this time, it appeared that the community had heard enough. Speaking at the meeting, city resident Lucia Amelia Cabral highlighted that the interests of the 150,000 residents in the area should be given priority, since their dwellings pre-date the hotel. She compared the construction of the hotel to ?putting an elephant in a match box? or releasing a ?fire-breathing dragon into the community?. As proof of the likelihood of negative consequences of the proposed project, the residents pointed out the problems associated with the operation of casinos that dot the Malecon.
Also an anonymous neighborhood resident cited concerns that the casino would attract prostitution, drugs and added traffic congestions to the area. Many in attendance called for the company to provide more details on the social impact of the project.
Mirtha Cabral, also speaking for the neighborhood groups, highlighted other hotels had respected the limit on the number of stories of their building. She said that the community would not accept the construction of the mega casino, insisting that increasing tourism could not be used as an excuse to compromise the quality of life of the residents in the area.
The limit has been respected by developers of new hotels in the area, including Holiday Inn, JW Marriot, Embassy Suites and InterContinental. None of the projects of these aforementioned developers were met with community opposition.
Given that the company had not prepared a detailed presentation of the project for the meeting, David Arias of the Ministry of Environment proposed that another public screening of the project be held in the next 15 days. The community called for the announcement of the date and place of the meeting to be placed in a widely read newspaper, reminding organizers that the first meeting was announced in a newspaper whose print edition is best known for publishing divorce notices and other obscure legal announcements in order to simply comply with government regulations.
At the meeting, it was clarified that the company was presenting the procedures for the obtaining of the construction permits for the hotel and not for the casino. The permission for operating the casino would need to be applied for separately, after the construction of the hotel.
In an announcement made on 13 January 2016, Hard Rock International?s Nelson Parker, vice president of casino development for the chain, announced plans to start construction in April 2016 of a ?40-story 400-room hotel?. During the announcement, Parker said the property would be home to a 23,000 sq. ft. casino, screening room and nightclub opening to the main pool. The casino would have a race and sports booking facility, high limit slots, 400 slot machines and 40 table games.
The hotel and casino project has been announced as a collaboration of Hard Rock International and All Inclusive Collection from Mexico, with an estimated later 2017 opening date. This would be the second collaboration with the Mexican company. The first is the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Macao area.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...ck-hotel--casino-santo-domingo-300204017.html

Haiti is worst ranked on Fragile States Index
Haiti to the west of the Dominican Republic has the lowest scores in Latin America and the Caribbean on the recently released Fund for Peace (FFP) 12th Fragile States Index 2016. Haiti is ranked 10th of 178 countries. The Dominican Republic improved its score from 104 in the 2015 Index to 105 this year.
The ranking focuses on the indicators of risk and is based on thousands of articles and reports that are processed by our CAST Software from electronically available sources. The Fragile States Index was developed to promote greater stability worldwide and help guide strategies for sustainable security.
The list groups countries by Very High Alert, High Alert (includes Haiti), Alert, High Warning (includes Colombia), Elevated Warning (includes Dominican Republic), Warning (includes Cuba, Brazil and Jamaica), Stable (includes Panama), More Stable (includes Costa Rica), Very Stable (includes the United States), Sustainable (includes Canada),
The lower the score, the better the ranking. While Haiti is the worst ranked Latin American and Caribbean country, Uruguay has the best score.
Latin American and Caribbean countries are ranked as:
Haiti 10, Guatemala 61, Venezuela 63, Colombia 67, Honduras 68, Nicaragua 71, Bolivia 75, Ecuador 84, Paraguay 95, El Salvador 96, Peru 98, Guyana 104, Dominican Republic 105, Mexico 107, Suriname 112, Cuba 114, Belize 116, Brazil 117, Jamaica 118, Grenada 122, Trinidad & Tobago 127, Antigua & Barbuda 129, Panama 133, Bahamas 137, Barbados 139, Argentina 140, Costa Rica 142, Chile 150, Uruguay 155.
http://fsi.fundforpeace.org

RD$260 million in seized smuggled goods
The Attorney General Office reported having seized around RD$260 million in smuggled and counterfeit goods in pharmaceuticals, alcoholic beverages and cigarettes in the first six months of the year. The value of pharmaceuticals is estimated at RD$40 million. Of the total, an estimated RD$159 million corresponds to confiscated cigarettes. More than 31 million cigarettes were seized.
Rafael Brito Pena, of the Attorney General?s Office, said that 61 arrests have been made in the case. The Attorney General carried out operations in collaboration with inspectors of the Ministry of Public Health and the forgery and organized crime departments of the Police.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...ntos-bebidas-y-cigarrillos-ilicitos-FH4382337

Dead whale washes up on Barahona shore
Investigators from the Ministry of Environment are researching the reasons for the death of a whale that on Sunday, 17 July 2016 washed up on the shore of Enriquillo in Barahona. The whale came to shore on the beach located between the communities of Los Blancos and Las Merceditas. It measured approximately 15 meters long.
http://hoy.com.do/encuentran-ballena-muerta-a-orillas-del-mar/

Tournament to help fund Willy Pumarol?s golf career
The 4th Willy Pumarol Golf Classic is announced for Saturday 6 August 2016 at the Punta Espada Golf Course in Cap Cana. Pumarol is the DR?s pro golfer who is working to be included in the PGA Tour. At present, he earned a slot to play in the PGA Tour Latin America. The Willy Pumarol tournament is also a benefit for the Jose Ignacio Morales (El Artistico) foundation in La Romana.
http://hoy.com.do/celebraran-el-torneo-willy-pumarol-golf-classic/

Nick Hardt wins 25th Merengue Cup
Dominican Nick Hardt defeated Mexican Edson Ortiz (3-6, 6-3 6-2) to win the finals of the 25th Merengue Cup, an International Tennis Federation junior event, in which around 100 players under 18 years of age from around 30 countries participated. The event was held 11-16 July 2016 at the courts of the Parque del Este in eastern Santo Domingo.
The son of a Dominican mother and father from Luxembourg, Puerto Plata-born 15-year old tennis player, Nick Hardt is only the fifth Dominican to win the prestigious Merengue Cup in its 25 years. Other Dominicans to do so before him were Hiram Silfa (1992), Alejandro Aybar (1994), Henry Estrella (2003) and Peter Bertran (2013).
The win added 40 points to Hardt?s international junior ranking in the U18 category, which should climb now to around 270 in the world.
The winners of boys? category doubles were Daniel Moreno and Edson David Ortiz (Mexico). In girls, Hurricane Tyra Black of the USA won the singles, and then teamed up with Kariann Pierre-Louis, also of the USA for the doubles win.
http://www.itftennis.com/juniors/tournaments/tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100037246

Children?s Film Festival this month
Planned for school vacation time, the Vice President Margarita Cedeno?s office is announcing the 11th International Children?s Film Festival (FICI) for 21-27 July. The films will be shown at the Palacio de Cine theaters at Bella Vista Mall and Agora Mall in Santo Doingo and Terra Mall in Santiago. There will be talks and special related events at the Biblioteca Infantil y Juvenil (BIJRD), near the Presidential Palace.
Among the movies scheduled for this year are:
Cuentos de la selva (Argentina
Finn (Netherlands)
El manzano azul (Venezuela)
Ostwind, Sputnik (Germany)
Donkey Xote (Spain)
Doraemon and the small dinosaur (Japan)
Angry Birds (USA)
Kirikou and the Sorceress (France)
Por mis bigotes (Mexico)
Los fabulosos ma?mejores and Primero de enero (DR)
The films will be shown at the Palacio de Cine halls of Agora Mall and Bella Vista Mall in Santo Domingo and Terra Mall in Santiago. Films will be shown at 4 and 6pm for RD$50.
http://hoy.com.do/vicepresidencia-r...nacional-de-cine-infantil-santo-domingo-2016/

Read more about upcoming events at http://www.dr1.com/calendar

To read more news, see the DR1 News Archives at: http://dr1.com/premium/news/2016/index.shtml