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Daily News - 14 April 2000
Medina outlines economic program
PLD presidential candidate Danilo Medina would create a uniform 10% tax rate on personal and corporate income, and totally exempt wage-earners with incomes below DR$8,566 monthly (around US$535). With this measure, he said, "we would pay less, but we would all pay." Current tax rates range from 15% to 25%.

The proposal is one element of an economic package Medina outlined yesterday at the prestigious American Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Speaking to 500 of the nation’s business leaders, Medina said that the ITBI tax – equivalent of a European VAT tax, or point-of-sale tax – would replace the income lost by a reduction in income tax-derived revenues. He also proposed to eliminate the charges imposed on major dollar exchange transactions, currently 5%.

Medina stated that, if elected, he would make the Central Bank truly autonomous, in order that it can better control inflation and keep the currency stable. Taxes on luxury housing and undeveloped lots, currently evaded as often as paid, would be eliminated, in favor of a uniform, modest levy on all property, including undeveloped land. He would also foster reform of tax and accounting laws so that Dominican business would no longer need to "undervalue" imports, and so that corporate financial statements would be "transparent and credible." Without such innovations, he said, it is impossible to "develop a capital market." He also favors the law that would create a stock market in SD as a means to encourage savings, provide new sources of finance for business, and make possible the self-funding of individual pensions.

The PLD standard-bearer would also fortify regulation in the banking, insurance, pension fund and telecommunications sectors in order to provide better consumer protection. He would also strive to reduce unemployment from 13.8% to 10%, keep inflation in the single digit range, and exceed the 8% growth rate in GNP that has, he said, "attracted the curious eyes of the world." The DR’s economy has been hailed in some quarters as the world’s fastest growing.

Another measure advocated by Medina is the establishment of a commission to prioritize the major construction projects of the state. "Infrastructure programs" valued at DR$75.297 billion (around US$4.7 billion), would be carried out by his administration, he said. "If almighty God and the Dominican people bestow on me the opportunity to serve," he vowed, "to carry out the most ambitious reform program," in the nation’s history.
Fernandez asks for congressional action
President Leonel Fernandez appealed to congress to enact pending legislation dealing with social security reform, intellectual property rights, reform of the monetary and financial codes, import duties and the establishment of a stock exchange. The chief executive set forth his legislative priorities during a 15 minute meeting in the National Palace yesterday evening with Rafaela Albuquerque, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. Following the meeting, Albuquerque stated that Fernandez had expressed "concern" over congressional inaction. He emphasized that the need for passage of these bills is grounded in the country’s obligation to fulfill its part in various international treaties.
Each of the respective bills has stalled at various points in the approval process, whether in the senate or in the lower house, both of which are controlled by the opposition PRD.
Report analyzes ills of higher education
A study has found the nation’s higher education institutions out of step with the nation’s human resource needs, disconnected from the employment market, indifferent to national and international problems, weak in research, and unprepared to face the challenges of a globalized, technologically-oriented world. The findings are contained in a report prepared by educator Manuel Herasme and economist Pablo Rodriguez, who studied the nation’s 28 universities and 7 higher technical institutes over a sixteen month period.

Based on interviews with university administrators, instructors, students, graduates and employers, they concluded; a) University teachers are generally solid professionals, but lack teaching skills; b) universities have no regular channels of communication with the job markets in which their graduates must compete; c) scientific and technological research receive scant attention; d) only 68% of the institutions studied take cognizance of national or international issues in planning, e) technological advance and the globalization of markets are largely ignored; f) barely 38% of universities have any kind of environmental protection function; g) physical facilities and equipment are generally poor.

It was learned that 97% of university staff interviewed believe that their greatest difficulty is the poor level of preparation of the students coming from secondary school. But the report also found a problem that 80% of the nation’s 216,000 enrolled students are majoring in just ten fields, with 68% of them concentrated in medicine, law, accounting, marketing, computer science, education, and business administration. This illustrates the "nonalignment between the number and type of graduates, and the "capacity of the economy to assimilate and use them in a productive way, the report concluded.
France to support reforestation and water resources projects
The government of France will provide US$4.2 million to plant trees and provide water to isolated rural communities. Signing the agreement yesterday were Temistocles Montas, Technical Secretary to the President and Didier Tievenan, representative of the French Development Agency (AFD). French ambassador, Francois Deniau looked on.

The grants will support a project of Plan Sierra to reforest 2,250 hectares of badly eroded land with pine saplings. It will also contribute to a Plan Sierra design to bring water to 529 families in rural Santiago Province. This new grant brings to US$61 million the total of financial support contributed by AFD within the country.
Colonial city lighting project stalled
The "second stage" of a project to provide illumination to SD’s colonial sector has bogged down amidst bureaucratic finger-pointing as well as allegations of technical ineptitude and embezzlement of funds.

El Siglo quotes the representative of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (ACE), Saturnino Cisneros, saying that the task of installing colonial-style electrified lanterns through the streets of the 16th century enclave has been flawed by "technical errors." Ace is contributing half of the money for the project, budgeted at DR$12 million (around US$750,000). The other half is to be provided by the government. Planning for the project was assigned to a three person steering committee, including Cisneros, Juan Lopez, Director of the Commission to Preserve and Protect Historic Monuments (CCAM), and Wilfredo Felix, Director of the Cultural Patrimony Office (OPC), which is the landmarks preservation body in the old city. The actual realization of the works was assigned by the committee to OPC, which apparently carried out the first stage without difficulty.

To begin the second stage, OPC signed a DR$1 million contract with a company called Electro Cierre, and delivered the funds. But, according to Maria Hirujo, formerly the OPC accountant, Electro Cierre is "a ghost company," created by "a high ranking official" of OPC. The SD commercial registry lists no such company, and phone calls to the numbers listed on its invoices have been found to be out of service. ACE, whose only role was to disburse funds and confirm compliance with the project’s technical specifications, is waiting for work to resume, while CCAM looks to OPC as the responsible party.

Most streets in the easternmost part of the kilometer-square city laid out in 1502 have been fitted with the lanterns, and the streets around the Cathedral, the Ozama Fortress, and the commercial artery known as El Conde, are now brightly and uniformly lit at night. Much of the remainder remains dark or randomly lit.
Force would be used to stop river destruction
With Armed Forces Minister Manuel de Jesus Florentino seated beside him, the Minister of Public Works, Diandino Peña, cautioned construction materials company executives that armed force would be deployed, if necessary, to halt the illegal extraction of sand and gravel from river beds. His warning was given at a meeting that brought together ecologists, construction company personnel, and representatives of grass roots organization that seeks to protect the rivers of San Cristobal Province, and elsewhere.

San Cristobal has been particularly outspoken in its efforts to stem the disturbance of the river beds by "exploiters" who are said to have mined the materials without government intervention for more than 20 years. The province’s government has passed numerous resolutions directed toward halting the practice. Last week, the environmental group calling itself Provincial Coordination in Defense of the Rivers Nizau, Nigua and Yubaso, convened a province-wide strike, the first one ever in defense of the country’s environment. Fausto Araujo, a San Cristobal representative in the Chamber of Deputies, has introduced legislation that would strengthen laws governing the disturbance of river beds. Ecologists have alleged that 120 of the rivers and streams have disappeared taking 30% of the country’s vegetation cover with them.

Another meeting of the group, to include representatives of the Department of Water Resources and the Ministry of Tourism, is scheduled for next week.
Mayors form association
The country’s elected mayors met in Santiago this week to create the National Municipal Federation (FNM). Thirty mayors, including those from some of the nation’s largest municipalities convened in Santiago’s city hall. According to Hector Grullon Moronta, Mayor of Santiago, the group is needed in order to speak with a single voice on behalf of municipal interests, to lobby for funding, and to share ideas and common approaches to the cities problems. At a second meeting, scheduled April 29th, the group’s leadership will be chosen.
Trujillo novel sells out in first day
All 10,000 copies of a novel dealing with life under the regime of Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo were sold out last week. The first Dominican printing of La Fiesta del Chivo (The Goat’s Party), by Peruvian writer and one-time presidential aspirant, Mario Vargas Llosa, disappeared from bookstore shelves in a single day. The book, in which factual episodes and real people – some still living – are treated with literary license, has caused a sensation here and has become a frequent topic on TV talk shows and commentaries. Enough survivors of Trujillo’s reign are extant to stimulate controversy as to the historical verisimilitude of the various incidents portrayed. A second printing has begun and waiting lists have been started, according to Lourdes de Cuello, editor-in-chief of Editora Taller, the SD printing house commissioned with distribution of the Vargas Llosa work.

Trujillo, who kept the country under his thumb for more than 30 years, was assassinated in May, 1961.
Merengue concert tonight
The 14th and final concert in a series titled "Once Upon a Time Merengue" will be staged in the Plaza de España in the Colonial City tonight. The event features celebrated "merenguero" Sergio Vargas, who has toured the country offering this pastiche of the evolution of the national dance. The series, which is sponsored by the Intercontinental Bank, celebrates 100 years of merengue music and has been enjoyed a great reception by audiences north, south, east and west. Tonight’s performance, open to the public without charge, is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
Olympic center prey to delinquents
Under red three inch letters spelling the word "Panic!" an article in El Siglo reports that the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Sports Complex, has been taken over by thieves and delinquents. According to the article, victims have complained that the park almost totally lacks illumination, and that young hoodlums conceal themselves behind bushes near the entrances on Maximo Gomez and Ortega y Gasset Avenues, in order to steal handbags, chains, and sports equipment. A number of incidents of sexual assault have also been reported. Parents are compelling children to quit teams, and stay away from events in the Olympic Park, especially at night. Citizens have asked the Sports Ministry to install lighting and a introduce a security presence into the park.

The park, which houses an arena, a stadium, baseball diamonds, a swimming pool, and tennis courts occupies a luxuriously green park in the very heart of SD, is the play and practice area for scores of amateur and professional teams from all around the city.
Fernandez promises budgetary support for games
The government has made budgetary provision for DR participation in the Olympic Games, to be held in Sydney, Australia next August, and in the Pan American Games, to be hosted by SD in 2002. The Olympic Committee’s chairman, Jose Joaquin Puello announced that in "an agreeable conversation, the president guaranteed the resources not only for the Sydney games," but for the Pan American Games as well. This month, the Olympic Games Committee will receive DR$8.2 million (around US$512 thousand) and the Pan American project will receive DR$9.5 million (around US$593 thousand). Similar suns will be granted in each month up to the final one prior to each event, said Puello.

But with Fernandez leaving office in August, such continuing appropriations are by no means assured. Writing in Listin Diario, sports columnist Hugo Lopez Morrobel reflected that such "significant support must be maintained by the next government." But he also recalled that "there have been innumerable projects begun by governments, and when another government takes power they’re immediately abandoned."
Vacations spots closed for Easter week
The Civil Defense Agency has announced the closing of 71 beaches and vacation sites nationwide for safety reasons. These vacation sites or beaches are declared off limits because the authorities feel they cannot handle large numbers of visitors. In alphabetic order, the off-limits spots are:
  • Azua: El Caney
  • Barahona: Los Patos
  • Elías Piña: El Cuero, El Llano, Hato Viejo
  • Espaillat: Paraiso de Jamao, Charco de Jamao
  • La Romana: Chavón, Tres Colitas, Boca Chavón, Río Dulce, Las Tres Aguas, La Represa, Hoyo Chulín
  • Monte Plata: Comatillo
  • Monseñor Nouel: Poza del Angel, Río Colorado, Palo de Garza, Presa de Rincón, Playa del Sol
  • Nigua: Los Cañones, Puente de Nigua
  • Puerto Plata: Poza del Castilla, El Canal, La Hilera, Acapulco, Sand Castle, Encuentro.
  • Sabana Grande de Boyá: El Guardián, Mercedes Reyes, Pocita Puente, Charco Mango, El Charco 12, Boya de Cruz, Loza Yaque, El Yaque, Río Mijo
  • San Cristóbal: Los Cuadritos, Boca de Nigua
  • San Juan: Las Tres Pailas, Palero
  • San Pedro: Del Muerto, Hawaii, Morota, Villa del Mar, El Puente, El Manguito, Rio Soco, Baño Guardias, La Manguita, El Muelle, El Puente
  • Sanchez Ramírez: Las Lajas, El Vivero, La Trifurcación, Las Palmas, Los Bambúes
  • Santiago: La Perñita, Arroyo la Zurza, La Otra Banda, Arroyo Gurabo; Presa de Taveras, Presa Bao, López Angostura
  • Santiago Rodríguez: Río Yaguasa, El Charco, Río Guayabán
  • Santo Domingo: Guibia, Manoguayabo, La Piedra
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