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Daily News - 22 February 2001
Chamber of Deputies approves Caricom Free Trade Agreement
The Chamber of Commerce gave its symbolic approval to the Free Trade Agreement with the Caribbean Community (Caricom). The Senate, the government institution that needed to ratify it as per the Constitution, had already passed the agreement. The accord now passes on to the Presidency for his signing, prior to it going into effect. President Hipolito Mejia has been a strong supporter of the agreement.
A train to Santiago?
The Technical Secretary of the Presidency, Rafael Calderon reported that the government is studying offers of a private company that would build and operate train service in the DR. He said the first route would communicate Santo Domingo and Santiago and would offer both cargo and passenger service. Thereafter, routes would continue to Puerto Plata, Monte Cristi and the southern provinces. The terms of the deal have not yet been revealed, but Calderon advanced that the US and Puerto Rican businesspeople would be making the entire investment, estimated at US$200 million for the Santiago route.
Furthermore, he said the government is still studying offers from German, French, Spain, the US and Canadian companies that want to set up a tramway crossing Santo Domingo.
He also told the press yesterday that his department is preparing a frontier development project. The idea is to build several free zones on both sides of the Dominican-Haitian frontier.
President Mejía doesn't like having dollar as currency
President Hipólito Mejía doesn't like the idea of the US dollar being the legal tender in the DR. Neither does Frank Guerrero Prats, governor of the Central Bank favor the idea. The idea has been around for many years, but is again making local headlines as more Latin American countries adopt the US currency. So far, Puerto Rico, Panama, Ecuador, El Salvador and more recently Guatemala have gone the way of the US dollar. The economic research center of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, Cenantillas is promoting the idea (see http://www.dr1.com/daily/news022101.shtml). "I have a concept of sovereignty and logic, and before I allow impositions from abroad, I will implement them here. I will do this with the Central Bank and the Monetary Board. My monetary and fiscal policy is clear," said President Mejia. The governor of the Central Bank says that the DR does not need to adopt the US dollar because monetary and fiscal discipline has prevailed.
The representative in the DR of the Interamerican Development Bank, Stephen McGaughey said that before the US dollar becomes legal tender in any country, that country has to accumulate high reserves of US currency.
Economists Rolando Reyes and Carlos Despradel told El Siglo newspaper that it would not resolve the problems of the economy.
In Hoy newspaper, the Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada says it will prepare several debates so the matter can be discussed by the business sectors.
The president of the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce, Jose Manuel Armenteros feels that in the long run, the adoption of the US currency would be convenient for the country.
European Union business aid office opens in Santo Domingo
The Center for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) opened in Santo Domingo yesterday. The institution is financed by the European Development Fund (EDF) under the Lome Convention office. It provides assistance to business in emerging nations and is based in Brussels, Belgium. Its Santo Domingo office is its first regional office. It chose Santo Domingo because in four years operating as the Center for the Development of Industry, Dominican firms have put to work 40% of its portfolio of funds for the Caribbean. Manuel Caceres Troncoso, in charge of the European Development Fund in the DR, commended the organization for its support to businesses in providing assistance for quality control of agro-industrial products, manufacture of lime, pottery, exploitation of marble deposits, commercialization of ornamental plants and cigars. The organization will be expanding its scope to agriculture and tourism sectors in 2001. During the opening of the offices, it was announced they would be working closely with the Agroindustrial Junta (JAD) and the Hotel Association (Asonahores).
Under the new Cotonou Partnership Agreement, signed on the 23 June 2000, the Center has plans to expand its support facilities adding new service sectors including tourism, telecommunications and transport. With this expanded portfolio the name will change to the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE)
For more information, see http://www.cdi.be/opening/1024/index.htm
Debating the pros and cons of the Caucedo megaport
Jaak Rannik spoke up for the Zona Franca Multimodal Caucedo, the project to build a mega port center adjacent to the Las Americas International Airport. Promoters say it calls for an investment of more than RD$4,000 million, will create 1,000 jobs during its construction phase, 5,000-10,000 jobs once in operation, and another 15,000 indirect jobs. He highlighted cost savings of the volume cargo operations, for export and import operations.
The free zone and cargo distribution center was presented in an open hearing at the City Hall yesterday. The distribution center will attract third generation ships used for trans-shipment operations that require deep port facilities at the present time unavailable in the DR.
Furthermore, he said that the area is already of mixed use, with industrial, with the operation of the Las Americas Free Zone, the Cyberpark and the construction of the AES power plant and natural gas terminal going up near the hotel installations.
The promoters have yet to present the findings of the environmental impact study being carried out by Mouchel Ltd (United Kingdom) and Titan Environmental, both certified by the World Bank. This study is required for the Ministry of Environment to give its go ahead to the project.
Hoteliers operating in the area feel that the project threatens the bay of Andrés and the lagoon-like beach of Boca Chica. Biologist Francisco Geraldes of the Association Pro Development of Boca Chica said that the environmental cost of the project would be too high, referring to contamination the port operation would bring.
Boca Chica is site of beach volleyball, sailing and water skiing events scheduled for the 2003 Santo Domingo Panamerican Games. There are nearly 2,000 hotel rooms in Boca Chica.
The squashing of the business sector?
El Siglo newspaper editorializes today on the difficult situation the Mejia administration is placing upon the Dominican business sector. "It is characteristic of some populist politicians to squeeze entrepreneurs on two fronts: by levying taxes and by increasing social benefits of workers"
The newspaper comments that according to the government "the rich" are the businessmen that provide jobs and organize production. To pay the higher salaries, higher production costs (such as energy) and increasing taxes, the businessmen need to increase the prices of the goods they sell or produce. Then, in addition to being called "tax evaders" by the government, they are described as "exploiters," which the newspaper says has a "prestigious phase with a revolutionary ring to it.
The editorial concludes that in the long run this policy has boomerang effects. "In a few years harmony is replaced by resentment. Local investment disappears and social harmony is tainted."
Start of Pan Am Village
The Secretary of the Presidency, Sergio Grullón represented the government in the ground-opening ceremony for the start of the construction of the Pan American Village adjacent to the Santo Domingo Cyberpark and near to the Las Americas International Airport.
Some 720 buildings will go up to house more than 5,000 athletes and delegates expected for the summer 2003 Santo Domingo Pan American Games.
The construction has been entrusted to Consorcio Panamericano 2003 (Grupo Alfa, Civilcad Constructora) and Sanak. President of the Sanak engineering company, Frank Pimentel said that the 60 apartment buildings will be ready in 24 months. He said they have been working on ground preparation for the past two months.
Tae Kwon Do sport to get help from Korea
The president of the Panamerican Union of Tae Kwon Do, Korean Chad Sok Park visited Santo Domingo and praised the development of the sport here. He commended the efforts of the president of the Federation of Tae Kwon Do, Leonardo Monsanto. He highlighted advances in the sport that led the country to place second among 42 participants in the Panamerican Championships recently held in Aruba.
During his visit, he met with the Korean Ambassador in the DR who committed to lobby for assistance from Korean sport specialists. He also announced the celebration in Santo Domingo in July of the Central American and Caribbean Tae Kwon Do Championships and the Manatee Cup Open.
"You need to work hard, ensure strength, preserve dignity and stay close to technological advances. If those aspects are met, I assure you that the first medal won in the 2003 Pan Am Games will be a tae kwon do medal," he told reporters from El Siglo newspaper.
In the Indianapolis Pan Am Games (1987) the DR won two bronze medals, in the Mar de Plata Game (another bronze) and in the Winnipeg Games (1999) a silver and a bronze.
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