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Daily News - 14 February 2001
ECLAC forecasts 6% growth for 2001
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) forecast the Dominican Republic economy will grow 6% in 2001. This would be 2.5% less than in 2000, when the Gross Domestic Product grew 8.5%, the greatest in the region. The Governor of the Central Bank, Frank Guerrero Prats had said growth would be less this year because of the effects of the higher cost of petroleum purchases. ECLAC says that despite the slow down, the Dominican economy will continue to be the fastest growing in Latin America and the Caribbean. Venezuela, a major petroleum producer, is forecast to follow the DR, with a 5% growth in 2001, up from 3% in 2000.
Police clash with the doctors
The press covered extensively the clash of police agents and Dominican Medical Association physicians. The doctors had notified the Ministry of Interior and Police that they would march from their locale to Congress to protest the Social Security Bill. They had just left the AMD premises when the Police confronted them. Chief of the Police Mayor General Pedro de Jesus Candelier justified the aggression by saying that the protestors did not have permission to march.
The the Social Security Bill has most everyone else's support but theirs. Reportedly, one of the major obstacles to the physicians giving the bill their blessing is that it establishes that they will be paid per labor rendered, not fixed wages, regardless of patients seen, as at present.
The press reported that the police agents used rubber bullets, tear gas and forceful shoving and even beating with batons to impede the march.
As a consequence, the AMD ordered an indefinite strike of government physicians at public hospitals. The physicians had already been on strike this week to protest the new bill.
The police clash makes more difficult the efforts of the government to reach an agreement with the organization to pass the bill. President Hipolito Mejia promised the bill would pass as part of his social compensation plan.
The AMD incident affected classes at the nearby state university and traffic in general in the area.
The local press was very critical of the police repression and also of the AMD for using strikes as a way to gain benefits for its membership.
18% minimum wage increase
The National Salary Committee approved an 18% wage increase for those working in general business. Free zones and tourism industry, and other industries have special wage levels. The 18% increase will benefit workers at businesses with capital of at least RD$500,000. The RD$521.10 increase in the minimum wage, ups the present RD$2,985 minimum wage to RD$3,416.10.
The increase was passed after days of discussions between representatives of the government, business, and labor groups. The labor groups had requested an increase of 35%, but said they would have accepted a minimum 20% increase. The government and business sectors voted in favor of the 18% increase. Business had proposed a 15% increase.
Altagracia Español Yaport said that the increase will be effective once the Committee issues a resolution on the increase and makes the publication in a newspaper of national circulation. If 15 days after the publication it is not impugned, it will automatically go into effect.
Already, the government has authorized a 10% increase in wages for its personnel, and free zones have authorized a 12% increase bringing the free zone wage to RD$2,490.
Patrimonio Cultural gets a new name
The former Oficina de Patrimonio Cultural will now be known as Oficina de Patrimonio Monumental. The office that oversees the cultural heritage of the nation is under the Ministry of Culture that is restructuring the different departments under its supervision.
The director of the Oficina de Patrimonio Monumental, Cesar Ivan Feris Iglesias announced his office would work in coordination with city governments in the many municipalities to create regulatory plans for all the cities. He said that cities have to be seen as a whole, and that there are no reasons to consider historic centers as isolated parts. He said he would work in coordination with the schools of architecture at the Dominican universities to prepare plans to assist in the organizing of the cities.
Airlines congratulate CAB for rescinding ICAO contract
The Civil Aviation Board has not made the announcement, but a group of national airlines published today an advertisement congratulating the board for rescinding the contract with the International Civil Aviation Organization. The government of Leonel Fernandez had funneled around US$11 million in payments to the organization and personnel contracted by the CAB with the objective of organizing local structures so that Dominican airlines could fly to US territory. The US Federal Aviation Agency has banned the DR from flying to the US for safety reasons.
The local airlines had expected the new authorities would rescind the contract, but were surprised when the new board members chose to continue the project that has been linked to major corruption in government.
The national airlines, Air Santo Domingo, SAP, Caribair, Air Century, Aerodomca, Trans Caribbean Airways publicly expressed their solidarity to the recommendation that the cooperation and support of the US FAA be sought to effectively resolve the problem. A US company had guaranteed to resolve the problem for about US$500,000 investment, much less than the US$11 million that has been sent with no apparent results.
Obstacles in the passing of the Central American FTA
The Senate, the government and representatives of the private sector agreed yesterday to postpone the studying of the protocols of the free trade agreement with Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Congress did not pass the protocols since local producers complained they contain irritating privileges and irregularities. Among these is a 2,000 ton of milk concession to Costa Rica. Hoy newspaper reports that the later was granted by efforts on behalf of former Minister of Industry and Commerce Luis Manuel Bonetti whose companies would benefit from the exceptions. The entire matter is delicate because several of the concessions granted to the Central American nations were done to obtain the Central American vote in favor of the technical rectification whereby several products were excluded from the World Trade Organization free trade orders and to obtain those nations clearance for the presenting of a longer negative list of items that Central America will not be able to export duty free to the DR.
Temistocles Montas still in Central Committee PLD
It is not true, as reported in the national press yesterday, DR1 included, that Temistocles Montas has been excluded from the Central Committee of the Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana. As part of reorganization efforts to better position itself for the 2002 and 2004 elections, the Party has submitted central committee members approval to the vote of its 33,000 membership. As per the first bulletin issued by the political organization, with about half of the votes already counted, Montas is among the 24 most voted members, that received 50% of the vote and will not have to go to the second round vote. The most voted are Leonel Fernandez, Danilo Medina, Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, Joaquin Bido Medina, all with 75% of the vote. Others are Lidio Cadet, Felix (Felucho) Jimenez, Euclides Gutierrez, Norge Botello, Alejandrina German, Franklin Almeyda, Rafael Alburquerque, Jose Tomas Perez, Reynaldo Pared Perez, Rafael Kasse Acta, Eduardo Selman, Cesar Pina Toribio, Roberto Salcedo, Miguel Cocco, Julian Serulle, Danilo Diaz, Gladys Gutierrez, Francisco Dominguez Brito, Temistocles Montas, among others.

Subsidy was bad in past government, good in present
Former Presidente Leonel Fernandez said that it makes no sense that the present government criticize his government's Programa de Evaluacion Minima de Empleo (PEME) when it announces a similar welfare system, the RD$300 cash subsidy to families with children in school. Fernandez spoke during the opening of the Petroleum and its Effects on the Economy and Development sponsored by his Fundacion Global Democracia y Desarrollo organization at the Salon Anacaona of the Hotel Jaragua. The forum continues today.
Haitian child workers
The Listin Diario writes on the increasing number of Haitian children that are finding work in the DR. He said that many come without either of their parents to get jobs as farm hands. While the situation in the DR is tough, they are escaping worse misery in Haiti, says the report. The Listin Diario says they are known as "restavec." Some say their parents sent them, others say they were brought in by other Haitian adults. The Listin Diario says that the children do not know how to read or write, have not received any kind of vaccinations, suffer from malnutrition and are paid wages of 25 to 50 per work day. It comments they represent a generation with an uncertain future in the DR. The children come with no documents and thus legally do not exist. They are unlikely to go to school.
The story relates that for most to migrate to the DR is a better alternative than their much worse plight of becoming one of thousands of Haitian children who are given away by their parents to persons of means in Haiti, who enslave and mistreat them, oblige the children to perform harsh tasks for no pay, and never send them school.
Sonia Pierre, president of the Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico-Haitianas said that ways have to be found to return the children to Haiti in an adequate matter and oblige their parents to assume their responsibility.
Architectural seminar
Santo Domingo is host to the IV Latin American and Caribbean Erwin Walter Palm Architecture and Urbanism Seminar. the event is taking place from 14 to 17 February. The purpose of the seminar is to promote among the players of contemporary architectural culture in the Caribbean a universal vision, open to the most varied criteria, positions, beliefs and concepts.
The School of Architecture of the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ureña sponsors the seminar. The Caribbean Federation of Architecture Associations recognizes it.
The conferences are taking place in the auditorium of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. An international workshop of design is also being held at the UNPHU as part of the seminar. For more information, call Tel. 542-6888 ext. 2106 o 732-7674 or see http://www.kantera.com/semipalm
Japanese instruments for Dominican musicians
The government of Japan delivered instruments worth RD$6.2 million for the use by National Conservatory of Music students. The donation seeks to contribute to the improvement of higher learning of music in the DR. The instruments include pianos, trumpets, violins, flutes, oboes, percussion instruments, a recording system, mixer, amplifiers and speakers.
To celebrate the donation, the Symphony Orchestra Juan Pablo Duarte of the National Conservatory, directed by Dante Cucurullo offered a concert at the Conservatory.
Pan Am Committee seeks business to sponsor sports teams
Hoy newspaper reports that the Organizing Committee of the Panamerican Sports Games would like to find 15 companies to sponsor national sports teams in the 2003 Santo Domingo Pan Am Games. Dr. Jose Joaquin Puello, spokesman for the organization, said that company sponsorship produced good results for Spain when it organized the Barcelona Olympic Games. He said that locally, this has already produced excellent results. He recalled that the sponsorship of Gulf & Western lead to the Dominican Republic winning a bronze medal in the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
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