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Daily News - 28 March 2000
Ministry of Public Works suspends tramway tender
The Ministry of Public Works announced it has suspended the competitive solicitation for the tramway that would be built along a 12-kilometer stretch of Av. John F. Kennedy. News reports yesterday had speculated that the government had changed the terms of the tender to benefit one of the companies.
The Ministry of Public Works, in a press release issued yesterday, said the government guarantees equal treatment to all bidding companies. Bids need to be deposited by 30 March.
The project is estimated to cost US$150 million.
The Ministry said it decided to suspend the solicitation to investigate charges related to possible incongruencies in the terms of reference of the tender. (See "Changing the rules of a tender to favor one company? at http://www.dr1.com/daily/news032700.shtml)
Cruise ship traffic increases at Santo Domingo ports
The Dominican Port Authority outlined yesterday in a press conference its efforts to improve services offered at the ports of Santo Domingo. Mary Kasse, deputy director of the Port Authority, said that cruise ship traffic is up. She said that in the first two months of the year, cruise ships have made 325 stops at the San Souci (east side) and the San Diego (west side) docks of the Port of Santo Domingo. This is up from 298 ship stops in 1999. She explained the cruise ship season primarily runs from November to April. She says statistics show some 211,991 tourists visited Santo Domingo by sea.
She said the government has a plan to get Carnival Cruise Lines to return to Santo Domingo. The ship discontinued its stops because of river dredging problems, and garbage generated by the many slum areas located alongside the river, up from the ports area. The garbage flows downstream when it rains.
The Port Authority also said that given deficiencies of the service provided by the Municipality of Santo Domingo, they have taken upon themselves since last September to keep the liter off the streets from Calle Estrelleta to Calle Padre Alba, including the Plaza de España area, and the Plaza Montesinos monument. Tree planting on the eastern bank of the river is also part of the efforts to make the most of the otherwise lovely environment. Alfa Méndez, also of the Port Authority, said that the government estimates the cruise ship activity generates about US$1 million a day (transfers and taxi fares, shopping, port area jobs, etc.)
Blackouts again affect city dwellers
The director of Communications of the Dominican Electricity Corporation, Domingo Páez explained that the blackouts occurring in Santo Domingo are due to major power plants going out of service. He said that the AES Dominican Power Partners Los Mina IV plant, and the Haina IV are out of service. In addition, Smith Enron power plant in Puerto Plata is only producing 60 megawatts of 185 megawatts. He said supply as of yesterday was only 1,300 megawatts, when demand surpasses 1,575 megawatts. Nevertheless, he forecast the situation would improve by the end of the week.
Inflation at 0.36% in January-February 2000
The Central Bank reports that inflation for the first two months of the year was 0.36%. Inflation for last year was 5.1%.
The health sector was the only cost indexed sector to experiment an increase over 1%, or 1.58% during the period. Food prices continued to decline as a result of the abundant production available in local markets.
The Central Bank forecasts that inflation in 2000 will be similar to that of 1999.
Poll shows Hipólito leads, Balaguer in third place
The Listín Diario/Sigma Dos poll released today indicates that if the elections were held today, Hipólito Mejía (PRD) would receive 39% of the vote, Danilo Medina (PLD) 27% and Joaquín Balaguer (PRSC) 21%. The newspaper says that the results show that no candidate has sufficient popularity to win the election in the 16 May 2000 first round. In case a candidate does not achieve 50%+1 of the vote, a second round will be held on 30 June, with the participation of the first and second placed parties. Sigma Dos pollsters interviewed 1,200 persons able to vote from 21-25 March.
Travel up 24.6% in 2000 over 1999
The National Hotel & Restaurant Association (Asonahores) reports travel to the DR increased 24.6% during the first two months of the year. Travel is up more than usual primarily due to an increase in hotel rooms to fill and the country recovering from the effects of Hurricane Georges in September 1998. More than 4,000 hotel rooms hit the market at year's end 1999, mainly in the Punta Cana and La Romana beach areas. Furthermore, January-February statistics for 1999, were inordinately low, reflecting the effects of Hurricane Georges on travelers to the DR.
The number of foreign tourist arrivals, according to Central Bank sources, were 487,881 in 2000 up from 391,511 in 1999, for the 24.6% variation.
By airport of arrival, this breaks down as:
Las Americas: 133,209 (2000), up from 112,269 (1999), 18.7%. Puerto Plata: 165,030 (2000), up from 147,650 (1999), 11.8%. Punta Cana: 179,434 (2000), up from 124,127 (1999), 44.6%.
La Romana: 8,252 (2000), up from 5,573 (1999), 48.1%.
Cibao (Santiago): 1956 (2000), up from 1,892 (1999), 3.4%.
The average hotel occupancy for the first two months of the year was 84.1%, up 5% from 1999.
Lack of planning hurts poultry and hog farmers
It's an unending story that need not be. Scarcity and high prices, then overproduction, then pleas to the government to purchase the surplus. The situation is a consequence of wrong business decisions taken by Dominican agriculture businessmen. Hard-pressed by more produce than there is a demand, the producers traditionally have turned the issue into a political matter, appealing to government indulgence.
Nothing is different today. It happened just recently the tobacco crops, and now the same lack of planning is affecting poultry producers and swine producers.
The poultry producer situation can ironically be traced back to Hurricane Georges when installations of major poultry producers were destroyed. Companies took advantage of insurance money to revamp and expand their production capacity. High prices also encouraged smaller producers to increase their supply. Today, there is an overabundance of production and prices are falling below production costs. El Siglo newspaper reports that poultry prices at the farm are under RD$5.00 the pound.
The National Poultry Commission wants Minister of Agriculture Amilcar Romero to back up their request to the government INESPRE facility to buy up the surplus for a strategic reserve. They say there are an accumulated excess of 3.5 million pounds of poultry that they would like the government to purchase at RD$6.50 the pound. They fear the bankruptcy of hundreds of small and medium-sized producers. The surplus is also affecting profitability of the larger firms. El Siglo newspaper report explains that production is about 12.5 million chickens a month, with consumption being regularly around 12 million pounds. During Lent, chicken consumption traditionally drops.
Porcine producers are suffering from a similar situation. They want to force local sausage manufacturers to buy up their production. The National Porcine Commission says there is an excess of 45,000 units in porcine farms. José Alba, said that producers are losing RD$3.50 on the kilo that is going for RD$14. To protect their production, they talked Congress into slapping a 25% import tariff on imported pork trimmings used by the sausage manufacturers. Janet Rivera, of the market leading sausage manufacturer, Induveca, told the Listín Diario, "This is not a problem of tariffs, nor imports, but of planning, supply and demand." She said that the producers can't possibly breed 15 or 20 times more than what consumers can buy. She says the farmers cannot sacrifice the pigs to just sell them trimmings. If this were done, then the price of pork meat would decline even more. She said Dominicans have become accustomed to consuming pork sausages, and not fresh meat. Induveca consumes 42% of the national pork production, of which their farms produce 25%.
Janet Rivera is also advocating that the government pick up the tab for the porcine producers, as it accepted to do with tobacco producers and now could do with the poultry producers.
Cocaine and marihuana found in cinematographer's autopsy
The director of the Forensic Pathology Institute, Sergio Sarita Valdez revealed that high levels of cocaine, marihuana and alcohol were found in the blood of well known cinematographer and TV producer Jean Louis Jorge. The autopsy showed that Jorge died from brain contusion, despite the stabs he had on his back. Dr. Sarita delivered the detailed report to District Attorney Francisco Domínguez Brito. The District Attorney's office is now in charge of investigating the crime.
The National Police has accused three men, 25-year old José Moreno Beltré, 21-year old Melkin Pérez Otaño and Manolo Pérez Soto of the murder.
Jorge was fond dead in his Gazcue apartment on Monday, 13 March in the afternoon. He was killed on the evening of 12 March after returning from filming beauty queens that would compete for the Miss Universe Dominicana and Miss World Dominicana titles at a Bavaro beach resort in the East.
In another development on the crime, the Police announced the arrest of Manolo Pérez Soto, the third person sought as a suspect in the crime.
For an earlier report on the case, see http://www.dr1.com/daily/news032700.shtml
Bachata king stabbed in city slum
Luis Segura, a renowned bachata singer, was stabbed on the Avenida Paseo de los Reyes Católicos, near the former Cementos Colón factory. He is better known artistically as "El Añoñaito," and is credited as being one of the founders of the bachata music movement. His son told Hoy newspaper that his father was assaulted when he entered a slum area in pursuit of a dog he thought could be his lost dog. The assault occurred around 3 pm. He was interned in the nearby Clínica Cruz Jiminián, where medics say he will probably be released today. No internal organs were affected. Segura's son said the assailants stole cash and jewelry estimated at RD$8,000 that his father had on him.
RD$250,000 for a lead to murder of military
Relatives of 30-year old Lisandro Quiñones Minaya called a press conference yesterday to announce a RD$250,000 award for anyone coming up with a lead to find the culprits of the former military. Quiñones was murdered beside his Los Jardines del Norte neighborhood home. All that was stolen was the former military's gun. The gun has not been located, either. The parents and 11 brothers and sisters of Quiñones say they decided to offer the cash award frustrated that the Police has not been able to resolve the case. They complained of little interest on behalf of the police authorities. Quiñones was murdered on the 27 March 1999.
Welcome rains
The heavy rainstorms that fell on Saturday and Sunday evening throughout have had a positive effect on farm production and aqueduct water levels nationwide. On Saturday, 30 millimeters of rain fell (30 liters of water per square meter) and on Sunday, 21.9 millimeters (22 liters of water per square meter) as reported by the Herrera Airport weather station. Danilo Rodríguez of Hoy newspaper explains that February and March are traditionally the driest months of the year. He said that normally, rains start in mid April, and continue through the summer months. The Caribbean hurricane season is from 30 June to 30 November.
Rodríguez says that technically there has been no drought in the DR. A drought occurs when 51 days go by without rain. He says that what has happened is that rains prior to last weekend had been too short and light.
He also said that average temperatures for this time of the year are 18-20 degrees Celsius in the early morning, and 28-30 degrees Celsius around noontime.
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