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Daily News - 18 January 2001
New routes and new buses
The Director of the Metropolitan Bus Service (OMSA), Diógenes Castillo announced yesterday that 835 new buses will be added to OMSA's rolling stock next month, to be deployed in the streets of the capital and in Santiago. The San Jose Fund will provide a US$350 million loan of Venezuelan funds to finance the purchase. Castillo said he hopes the new busses will enable the removal of the public jalopies and deathtrap minibuses from intercity routes. The OMSA director also announced new routes for the new buses. He said the routing is the prerogative of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (AMET).
Holiday calendar for 2001
The Labor Minister announced that according to Law 139 (97) the official holidays for 2001 is as follows,
Monday January 1 (New year's Day)
Saturday, January 6 (Three Wisemen's Day)
Sunday, January 21 (Virgin of Altagracia Day)
Friday, January 26 (Duarte's Birthday) (celebrated Monday, January 29)
Tuesday, February 27 (Independence Day)
Friday, April 13 (Good Friday)
Tuesday, May 1 (Labor Day) (celebrated April 30)
Thursday, June 14 (Corpus Christi Day)
Thursday, August 16 (Restoration Day) (Celebrated August 20)
Monday, September 24
Tuesday, November 6 (Celebrated November 5)
Tuesday, December 25
Samana ferry begins operating in March
A new ferry line will likely open between the eastern cities of Sabana de la Mar and Samaná. According to a report in Listin Diario, the Director of the Dominican Port Authority (APORDOM), Anibal García Duvergé, stated that the new line will open within 30 days. He also said that the renovation and dredging of the port of Sabana de la Mar would render the project feasible. The dredging operation will cost some RD$16 million, and the dredging operation will be finished by February 15th.
US nationality affects approval of consuls
The US government is questioning the accreditation of three consuls appointed by President Hipólito Mejia. Luis Eludis Perez (New York), Cesar Augusto Mateo (Jacksonville, Florida) and Fermin Diaz Monegro (San Juan, Puerto Rico) are US residents or US citizens. Commenting on the case, Ambassador Charles Manatt said that for the US Department of State to recognize them in their new posts, they would have to renounce their US citizenship. In the past, the US government has approved that Dominican residents in the DR be Dominican consuls that were residents of the US were consuls.
Fiscal amnesty law, publicity tax and used car import prohibition
Last night, President Hipólito Mejia promulgated the fiscal amnesty law, together with various reforms of the Customs Import Duties Law. Publicity and promotional services will now be taxed at 6% retroactive to January 1st. Luis Gonzalez Fabra, the President's Press Secretary, announced the enactment of Law 11-01 which provides a tax amnesty for the correction of errors in the sworn declarations of assets of tax payers. The new law also grants a tax amnesty to sole proprietorships, exempting them from certain tax provisions during the three most recent tax cycles.
In an effort to help the environment, the President also signed into law the bill forbidding the importation of vehicles more than five years old.
Customs Department explains rate changes
The General Directorate of Customs announced that the changes that are being made in the valuation of imported articles reflects agreements reached with the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Customs office said that it is obliged to apply the customs valuation code adopted by GATT. These adjustments effectively neutralize the customs rates reductions that were recently adopted as part of the new tax package. The government had Congress pass a new tax package supposedly to compensate for the drop in government income the rates reductions would have brought.
Haiti and the DR advance on debt project
Haiti businessmen and government officers were open to work together with the Dominican Republic on a project that seeks to foster development in Haiti. The DR will benefit from a reduction in migration and an increase in purchasing power in Haiti for Dominican produce. Haiti will benefit from increased investment in infrastructure and services, and job creation in Haiti.
Luis Heredia Bonetti, of Russin, Vecchi & Heredia Bonetti law firm, head the Dominican delegation to Haiti to discuss the support of the Haitian community to the plan. The proposal is to lobby before the US government so that the latter may authorize that the Dominican Republic create the Hispaniola Fund. The fund would be made up by payments toward the Dominican foreign debt now being made to the US, about US$100 million a year and would allow the money to instead be invested in projects in Haiti and along the frontier with Haiti.
The Minister of Commerce and Industry Gerald Germain said that the Haitian private sector agreed to express its support to the project to the new authorities starting 7 February. The total debt conversion program would be for US$780.9 million.
Present at the meeting were Haitian businessmen Felipe Amaro, president of the Dominican Haitian Foundation, businessmen Max Antoine, Maurice La Fortune and Patrice Baker of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce. For the DR, Luis Heredia Bonetti, Miguel Núñez, of the Dominican embassy in Haiti, Ramon Martinez Aponte, Ellis Perez, Frederic Emam Zade and Hugo Ramirez. They also met with the vice president of the Haiti Chamber of Commerce Maurice La Fortune and president of the Association of Tourism of Haiti, Dominique Carvonis.
Banker announces decline in interest rates
The president of Banco Mercantil, Andrés Aybar, who is also the current president of the American Chamber of Commerce here, announced that the interest rates for loans are falling and are now at 27%-28%. The previous loan rate was above 30%. In an interview with Hoy, Aybar said that rates should ultimately arrive at around 17% to 18%, which is the goal of the Central Bank's governor. "We might need five or six months to get the interest rates to these levels," he said, "but I think we're on the right track."
Aybar opposed the 1.5% prepayment tax on gross income. He expressed the view that taxes ought to be assessed on sales cashed in, not on credit sales. He said that businesses that are taxed on credit sales would be headed for bankruptcy. The monthly tax prepayment went into law on 1 January 2001.
DR in Panama to defend its right to host Pan-American Games
The Organizing Committee of the XIV Pan-American Games will defend the selection of Santo Domingo as host site for the event to be held in 2003. 41 other nations members of the Pan American Sports Organization are meeting over the 18th and 19th of January in Panama to hear a report of a committee that recently visited Santo Domingo to observe progress in the preparations for he event.
Before leaving for Panama, the head of the Dominican delegation, Jose Joaquin Puello, expressed optimism that Santo Domingo would retain its place. He said he was taking everything related to the San Jose Fund financing of sports venues, the lands set aside for the Pan Am Village, the budget approved by Congress, a schedule for the construction work, a plan for remodeling the Olympic Park, and a letter of endorsement from the government. Bienvenido Solano, Director of the Pan Am Games, and other officials of the Sports Ministry and Public Works Ministry accompany Puello.
Whales arrive early this year
The Under Secretary for Protected Areas and Biodiversity of the Ministry of the Environment, Julio Cesar Ureña, said that humpback whales have arrived in Dominican waters 15 days early. He attributed their precocity to the unusually warm and serene waters of the Atlantic. Typically, the whales start to arrive in mid January, and remain in the area until mid March. Several companies organize whale-watching tours, consistent with security regulations that provide the distance to be maintained between for observers and animals, as well as the number and speed of boats. Boats must keep a distance of 80 meters from the mother and 50 meters from other whales. When the boats inch near to the whales they must be in neutral gear, and cannot remain in place for more than 30 minutes. The speed of the craft cannot exceed 5 knots, and no abrupt maneuvers are allowed. In addition, boats must move parallel with the whales. Each trip must be observed by navy personnel as well as personnel from the Sub Secretary's office. More than 6,000 animals, among a total worldwide population of humpbacks estimated at 10,000 are expected in Dominican waters. They swim south in the winter from Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, Labrador, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Maine and Norway.
Virgin of Altagracia Day to be celebrated on January 21st
Thousands of devotees are preparing to celebrate the Day of the Virgin of Altagracia this coming Sunday, January 21st. Traditionally, they make a pilgrimage to the Basílica in the Eastern City of Higuey to fulfill promises made in prayer to the Virgin, who is revered as the Dominican Patron Saint. Some 10,000 pilgrims, including President Hipólito Mejía, will visit the sanctuary in Higuey and the government is spending some RD$2.3 million in repairs to the Basilica, resurfacing its parking lot, and installing new directional signs.
Escogido vs. Aguilas
All appears it will be the Escogido vs. the Aguilas for the Winter Baseball Championship. For the game schedules, see http://www.dr1.com/daily/calendar.shtml
 TEAM  WON  LOST  PCT.  DIF.
 Escogido  11  3  .786  
 Aguilas  8  6  .571 3
 Azucareros  5  9  .357  6
 Estrellas  4  10  .286  7
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