DR1 Daily News - Thursday, 4 August 2016

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May 3, 2000
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Presidency reports on inauguration program
CELAC meeting agrees to Plan 2025
Ministry takes steps to define limits of protected areas
Cedimat officials stress medical tourism potential
AIRD: Working for competitiveness
Call to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino public hearing
OTTT hosts workshops for bus and motorcycle drivers
Literacy graduation scandal costs 4 their jobs
Adocco sees massive resignations of judges and cops
Police increase patrols and provide new equipment
Civil Defense finds last body of Los Haitises shipwreck
Cultural Projects Fair at Palacio de Bellas Artes



Presidency reports on inauguration program
The Presidency has shared details of the inauguration program for next week.
The Presidency says that following the National Assembly swearing-in protocol and speeches at the Congress headquarters at 10am on Tuesday, 16 August 2016, President Danilo Medina and Vice President Margarita Cedeno would head to the Presidential Palace to swear in their administration’s cabinet for 2016-2020 term.
Then President Medina is scheduled to attend a Te Deum to mark the 172nd anniversary of the Restoration of the Republic at the Santo Domingo Cathedral. The event commemorates the nation’s return to independence following the annexation to Spain in 1865.
At 2pm, President Medina will lay a floral wreath at the Altar de la Patria to honor of the country’s founding fathers: Duarte, Sanchez and Mella.
At 7:30pm, President Medina, Vice President Cedeno and cabinet ministers will host international dignitaries and special guests at the Salon de Embajadores at the Presidential Palace.
The Presidency says that seven presidents have confirmed their participation in the 16 August 2016 inauguration events. The day’s festivities will conclude when President Medina will host a gala dinner for these heads of state at the Las Cariatides Hall of the Presidential Palace. Tuesday, 16 August is an official holiday in the Dominican Republic.

CELAC meeting agrees to Plan 2025
Vice President Margarita Cedeno, Foreign Minister Andres Navarro and Agriculture Minister Angel Estevez presided over the closing session of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) that met in Santiago to discuss the eradication of hunger in the region by 2025. Navarro praised the work of the conference attendees, noting that the proposals to address hunger in the region that came out during the working sessions and panel discussions were instrumental in identifying opportunities for cooperation among the nations in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
Navarro stressed that the group leaders would next share the Plan San-CELAC 2025 with farmer groups, cooperatives, agri-businesses, educational institutions and civil society organizations. The working session was held in Santiago de los Caballeros. The next meeting will be in September in New York City.
CELAC is an intergovernmental forum that promotes dialogue and consensus building on a broad range of issues among heads of state and government of Latin American and Caribbean.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...publicas-para-seguridad-alimentaria-AE4547020

Ministry takes steps to define limits of protected areas
The Ministry of the Environment reports that work continues to define the boundaries of several protected areas along the border with Haiti. A renewed government declaration of these protected areas will emphasize the state’s intent to protect this area from deforestation while discouraging the adoption of unsustainable farming practices on the border.
Readers will remember that last month, Jake Kheel, the executive vice president of the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation told an audience of the American Chamber of Commerce how slash and burn agriculture and charcoal production are destroying the Bahoruco forests on the border with Haiti. He is the producer of the documentary “Death by a Thousand Cuts” on deforestation on the border and the human tragedies this brings.
According to the Ministry of Environment press release, the government will place boundary markers at 127 protected areas all over the country.
The press release highlights work underway in Nalga de Maco National Park in Santiago Rodriguez and Dajabon and in the Sierra de Bahoruco where they have completed about 70% of the work. Among protected areas already outlined by the Ministry are Los Haitises in Monte Plata; Loma Quita Espuela, in Duarte province (San Francisco de Macoris); Loma Guaconejo in Nagua as well as Diego De Ocampo in Santiago.
http://www.ambiente.gob.do/ambiente...ar-la-tumba-quema-de-arboles-y-el-conuquismo/

Cedimat officials stress medical tourism potential
According to officials from Cedimat, arguably the nation’s most advanced medical facility, the Dominican Republic has a very high potential to become the leading medical tourism destination for Caribbean citizens.
According to the Cedimat spokespersons, the nation has the medical facilities and an abundance of high-trained medical professionals in a wide range of health care fields that can provide high quality and efficient medical services to tourists.
During the Weekly Breakfast of the Corripio Communications Group, Dr. Luis Betances, the medical director of Cedimat, explained in detail the services offered by his institution.
Also participating in the breakfast were executives of PAWA airline that recently signed an agreement with Cedimat to offer attractive packages to customers interested in medical tourism.
Dr. Betances noted that so far this year Cedimat has treated around 600 patients from a number of foreign destinations. He said people come to the Dominican Republic because procedures here are less costly than those in the United States, Canada or elsewhere. He said foreign medical tourist visits at Cedimat are up 25-30% this year.
http://hoy.com.do/cedimat-exhibe-servicio-calidad-a-extranjeros-con-costos-mas-bajos/

AIRD: Working for competitiveness
The president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), Campos de Moya hosted the presentation of the 10 year anniversary issue of the magazine “Hecho en RD” (Made in the DR) yesterday, 3 August 2016.
On the occasion he stressed that the AIRD, together with the central government and legislators, was working hard to increase the competitiveness of the nation’s industries. He stressed with the start of the second term of President Medina, the AIRD wants to continue as a partner of the government to position the industrial sector as a central and integral part of national development.
The executive vice president of the AIRD, Circe Almanzar, noted that the association that represents large manufacturers has consistently supported and contributed to the nation’s industries in an effort to promote sustainable economic growth and development. Almanzar focused on specific accomplishments in the sector, such as robust creation of jobs creation and increased productivity and export capacities.
The 10th edition of the magazine focuses on the construction industry, one of the key motors of local economic growth. The magazine features interviews with and articles by Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo, and businessmen Jose Luis Corripio Estrada, Rafael Bisono and Celso Marranzini.

Call to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino public hearing
The neighborhood boards of the Poligono Central urged all interested parties to attend the second public hearing for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino scheduled for Friday, 5 August at 10am at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, located at Av. Luperon corner Jose Contreras. A second meeting was called after the first meeting was invalidated when the Ministry of Environment considered Hard Rock Hotel & Casino representatives did not comply with the requirement of presenting details on the planned construction or social impacts of the project.
In January 2016, Hard Rock International announced the construction of a 40-floor hotel and 23,000 square foot casino.
The community groups in neighbourhood adjacent to the proposed construction reject the mega casino and noted that the height of the proposed hotel is beyond the 23-floors allowed for the area.
Neighborhood groups have also complained that the casino (with double the amount of slot machines and gaming tables of any other casino in the city) would have a devastating effect on the commercial and residential area and severely compromise the quality of life of residents near the project. The groups stress that the negative impacts of casinos are well known, such as bringing increases in gaming addiction of residents in the area, prostitution, drug trafficking, violent crimes and vehicle traffic in the area.
“According to Environment Law 64-00, socially speaking, no project is sustainable if it has a negative impact on the lives of the people in its surroundings and if it introduces significant changes in their normal habitat,” says the community in a press release inviting interested persons to attend the hearing.
The neighborhood boards represent residents in Piantini, Yolanda Morales, Paraiso, Esteva Oeste/Seralles, Naco Orion and Naco Arboleda that have already formally expressed their opposition to the construction of the hotel with the announced number of floors and casino to authorities at the city government (ADN), and the ministries of Environment, Hacienda and Public Works.
The contact for the neighborhood groups is juntavecinospiantini@gmail.com

OTTT hosts workshops for bus and motorcycle drivers
The Technical Office of Ground Transportation (OTTT in Spanish) is hosting road safety workshops in an effort to reduce traffic accidents involving bus and motorcycle drivers. Hector Mojica, director of OTTT, said the focus of the workshops is on educating public transport vehicle drivers. The technical director of the OTTT, Maria Paz Conde, encouraged the general public to enroll in the workshops by contacting her office.

Literacy graduation scandal costs 4 their jobs
The National Board of Literacy (Junta Nacional de Alfabetizaci?n) cleared National District Mayor Roberto Salcedo from responsibility in the Quisqueya Aprende Contigo graduation scandal.
The board instead recommended the firing of four coordinators of the adult literacy program, Quisqueya Aprende Contigo (Quisqueya learns with you). The coordinators of the program are accused of poorly handling the graduation event held 15 April 2016 at the Ministry of Defense.
National District Mayor Roberto Salcedo had a key participation in the event that was held during the peak days of his re-election campaign. Salcedo, the leading mayoral candidate at the time, would eventually lose his bid for a fourth term.
The event was organized by the Literacy Board of Greater Santo Domingo.
In a document that accompanied the findings of the investigation, the board says that Salcedo participated in the event to honor the graduates. The city government of Santo Domingo was asked to send the Folklore Ballet and its folk music group.
According to the Diario Libre, the commission found that there were political motives for “seeding” the audience at the graduation ceremony with “graduates” who had no idea why they were there. Many of these individuals later told television reporters that they had agreed to attend the event based on requests of local political leaders. Supposedly, a number of the guests in attendance received an cash incentive to participate in the ceremony.
In addition to the four firings, two other employees of Quisqueya Aprende Contigo were reprimanded in writing.
The president of the National Literacy Board, Gustavo Montalvo, said that the commission that investigated the case also recommended several improvements in the program’s management, including prohibiting mass graduation ceremonies during election campaigns and close to any other event of a political importance whether national provincial or local. Also Montalvo requested that the President of the Republic modify the decree that creates the National Literacy Plan in order to expand the composition of the technical team that supports the Literacy Plan and that this technical team presents a working plan for their operations for the next two years.
Members of the investigating commission were: Elena Viyella, Jose Ramon Holguin and Monsignor Lorenzo Vargas.http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/08/...alsos-graduandos-acto-programa-alfabetizacion
http://eldia.com.do/junta-de-alfabe...calde-roberto-salcedo-de-graduacion-de-abril/

Adocco sees massive resignations of judges and cops
The general coordinator of the Dominican Alliance Against Corruption (Adocco), Julio Cesar Tiburcio forecast that over the next few days there could be massive resignations by judges at different levels of the judicial system together with members of the National Police.
Tiburcio said that in the case of the magistrates, the issues revolve around long work hours and unrelenting pressure to perform their duties. Tiburcio complained that there are civil society organizations are exerting undue pressure on judges as a way to control the Judicial Branch. He noted that the majority of the judges are honorable people.
He said they have heard accounts that there will be massive resignations by judges at different levels around the country, who are simply overwhelmed by the pressures from some sectors that together with the precariousness of their work situations that are making their lives unmanageable.
As reported in Listin Diario, Tiburcio also complained that representatives of important sectors related to the justice system have been excluded from the upcoming Summit of the Judicial Branch.
He added that within the rank-and-file of the National Police there may also be massive resignations due to the lack of legislative action on proposals that promised to improve the pay and quality of working conditions of members of the police force.
Tiburcio says that the recently passed Police Law does not take into account the stress and economic hardship of being a police officer. In particular, Tiburcio cited the new Police Law prohibits police officers from holding a second job.
The director general of the Police has urged police who are holding second and third jobs not to resign as the Police Department looks for a solution.

Police increase patrols and provide new equipment
The director general of the police, Major General Nelson Peguero Paredes, ordered the deployment of an additional 500 officers for patrol duty around the country. He also has provided 50 new pickup trucks and 100 motorcycles for patrol duty. He said that up until now this mixture of patrols has been very effective and has resulted in the reduction of complaints filed in different police stations or at police headquarters. He asked that the officers take good care of the equipment in order to be able to effectively carry out their duties reduce crime.

Civil Defense finds last body of Los Haitises shipwreck
Civil Defense director, Mayor General Rafael de Luna Pichirilo reported on Wednesday, 3 August 2016, as having recovered the missing body of Yovanny Quezada, one of seven who died when their recreational tour boat capsized due to bad weather as they headed to Los Haitises for a day tour on Sunday, 31 July 2016. The group of four couples and the captain took off on the excursion to Los Haitises despite a port order banning all small boat excursions because of a tropical wave in the area. Their boat did not carry life jackets. Only the captain of the boat and one woman, Ruth Capellan survived by swimming to shore.
http://elnacional.com.do/recuperan-ultimo-cuerpo-de-naufragio-en-samana/
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...veres-del-naufragio-en-los-haitises-MF4546079

Cultural Projects Fair at Palacio de Bellas Artes
The Ministry of Culture is presenting the First Fair of Cultural Projects from 4-7 August 2016 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
The event will showcase provincial initiatives to promote music, arts and crafts, literature and plastic arts in the provinces. The showing will be open from 10am to 10pm.
The Ministry announces several leading artists will be performing as part of the event. These include Fefita "La Grande," Kinito Mendez, Maridalia Hernandez, Pavel Nunez, Diomary "La Mala", Jose Pena Suazo, Rando Camasta, Covi Quintana and Pamel Mancebo. There will be choral, ballet and folklore dance performances, too.
http://cultura.gob.do/programa-feria-de-los-proyectos-culturales-2016/
 
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