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Daily News - 23 February 2001
Happy Birthday, Mr. President
President Hipolito Mejia celebrated his 60th birthday yesterday, taking time out from a busy schedule to dance merengue with his sister Isabel Mejía and have lunch at home with his family. On his birthday, the President carried out a usually full agenda. His day started with a breakfast at the apartment of Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas and other government officers. Then he left to be present at the opening of the Latin American Congress of Wholesale Markets organized by the Spanish firm Mercasa that has plans to install a large distribution center-market at Autopista Duarte. Shortly after he was at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to decorate the Ambassador of Japan, Masato Akasawa, who will be leaving soon. He also found time to be present at a ceremony of students honoring the flag at the Plaza de las Banderas.
He had time to go home for lunch, returning at 3 pm to the National Palace, where his sister Isabel Mejia awaited to dance a merengue to the tune of the Armed Forces typical music group.
Congress passes five loans
The Chamber of Deputies okayed five loans to finance government projects. The funds will be used as follows:
Construction of the aqueduct in the eastern side of Santo Domingo (US$30 million)
Guaiguí Dam in La Vega (US$42.5 million).
Brujuela-Casuí dam (Boca Chica-San Pedro de Macoris) which will source from a subterranean river in the east of the city. (US$54 million + 8.5 million).
Modernization of the Executive Branch (US$21 million).
Deputy Ana Isabel Bonilla de Estrella, spokesperson for the PLD block of deputies, complained that many of the loans had been secured in the past administration having been turned down by the PRD deputies. She commented that then the loans were bad, and now that the PRD is in government they are good.
Fuel prices decline
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced that as of Saturday, 24 February prices of fuel in the DR will be back at the levels of August 2000. Premium gasoline will now sell for RD$39.82 (down from RD$41.93), regular gasoline for RD$34.60 (down from RD$36.33) and diesel will go for RD$21 (down from RD$22.12).
Michael Skol to lobby for DR in US
The consortium of Skol & Associates/Manchester Trade signed a
two-year contract in January with President Hipolito Mejia to work directly for him and with his administration in a variety of areas, including trade strategy/negotiations and anti-corruption/anti-drug programs.
Skol & Associates Inc., with offices in New York, Bogota (Skol, Ospina & Serna), and Washington, DC, offers counter-money laundering, anti-corruption, business development and representational services for governments, international institutions and private firms. Clients have included the governments of Bolivia and Argentina, the IDB, the OAS, and the Andean Development Corporation, as well as major European and American firms. The principal is Ambassador Michael Skol, who served in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1965 to 1996, including as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America/the Caribbean and as Ambassador to Venezuela.
Agreement with power distributors seeks to reduce blackouts
The government signed an agreement with Distribuidora del Este, Edesur, and Edenorte to make direct payments to the generators of the subsidy on the price of fuel that compensates these companies for the increasing prices of fuel in international markets. The agreement seeks to return to the distributors adequate levels of profitability, as these have alleged multiple losses for their low billing regarding power supplied. The distributors have not been successful in attracting a large enough number of new paying users as was expected when the privatization process took place. The agreement known as Acuerdo Global para la Sostenibilidad del Sector Electrico was signed by the Minister of Industry and Commerce Angel Lockward and the general manager of the Dominican Electricity Corporation, Cesar Sanchez for the Dominican government. It will be retroactive 1 January 2001.
El Siglo newspaper criticizes the distributors, particularly the Spanish companies Edenorte and Edesur for not being more aggressive at billing. It criticizes that the companies have not made sufficient efforts to attract new clients, or even bill their paying clients, seeking to save costs and charge fines for delayed payments. The newspaper says that to collect it is necessary that the companies invest in improving distribution networks, connections, procedures to impede power theft, and hire personnel to distribute bills, as other service companies have done. The newspaper says that AES Distribuidora del Este has been the best of the three power distribution companies, and has been successful at increasing the number of its paying clients in the eastern side of the country and its revenues by installing new cables that impede theft.
Ecologists concerned over government beach concession
El Caribe newspaper presents the complaint of Luis Carvajal and Domingo Abreu of the Academy of Science as per the illegality of Decree 1144-00 of 7 November 2000. A decree cannot modify a law, they say. As per the decree, President Hipolito Mejia authorizes the sale of four million square meters of the National Park of the East to a Spanish company that would build 1,200 hotel rooms. Reportedly, the company secured the authorization for the sale during the past government of Leonel Fernandez, but with this decree, the present government validates the sale. The sale is contrary to the Law of Environment by which construction within the 420 km2 of the National Park of the East is banned to preserve the fragile environment of the area.
Minister of Environment Frank Moya Pons says he is not aware of the existence of the decree that was signed by the President after being issued by the office of the legal advisor of the Executive Branch.
New overpasses down to the Malecon
The Ministry of Public Works inaugurated last night the new system of overpasses above the Luperon, 30 de Mayo and Independencia avenues. These were built at a cost of more than RD$451.5 million. Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas said that the new overpasses will expedite traffic especially for those headed to and from the South.
Modifications would be step backwards for democracy
The Junta Central Electoral proposed modifications of the Electoral Law that are being met with criticism by national sectors. The board in charge of organizing presidential, municipal and congressional elections in the DR is proposing to increase from 90 to 150 days the political campaign period. Furthermore, what has met with the most opposition is a new proposal to change the law so that the population cannot vote for the deputy or alderman of choice, but instead have to vote for those chosen by the party, regardless of whether they represent their interests or not.
The new system that would allow voters to vote for the candidate of choice was to be implemented for the 2002 congressional and municipal elections, but the Junta Central Electoral and the government party seem to be in favor of the modifications.
Hoy newspaper says to modify the law would be a step backwards. It quotes Federico Antun Batlle of the PRSC saying that the return of the obsolete system of numbering the party's choices (the party gets a deputy in order of how many total votes it receives and those at the top of the list get elected first).
The Secretary General of the PLD, Jose Tomas Perez, also is against the pre-numbered list of party choices. He said it will be a setback to democracy.
Vincho Castillo lashes out against anti-corruption officer
Dr. Marino Vinicio Castillo, recognized for his efforts against the drug business in the DR, would like to know the origin of the fortune of more than RD$12 million that the director of the Department of Prevention of Corruption, Jesus Felix Jimenez declared at the start of his term. He challenged Jimenez to explain the origin of the six million he said the government officer has deposited in a bank. Castillo said that Jimenez's years working as a lawyer are not sufficient to have accumulated such a fortune. Castillo urged Jimenez to tell the country how much his client, Maximo Reyes, who was extradited to the US for drug dealing and multiple assassinations, paid him for his defense. This case was handled when Castillo was president of the National Council of Drugs.
"It would be good for the nation and the transparency of the public anti-corruption cases that Felix Jimenez, as lawyer of the extradited and other big drug bosses inform the country which persons were left administering the millionaire fortunes of these in the national territory."
Castillo said that the director of the anti-corruption department cannot allege he inherited 100 dairy cows in the Northwest because the cows in the Northwest do not produce more than three bottles of milk.
The director of the Anti-Corruption Department had declared on Wednesday that the work of Castillo at the front of the National Council of Drugs should be audited because the latter used the post to destroy reputations. Castillo said that all his work has already been audited.
Gymnastics pavilion now to go up in front of Quisqueya Ball Park
The Listin Diario publishes that the gymnastics pavilion needed for the Pan American Sports Games could be built on grounds used by the Liga Deportiva Mercedes, a baseball league, in front of the Quisqueya Park and the Carlos (Teo) Cruz Boxing Coliseum. Luis Mercedes, president of the League, confirmed he has held talks but that there is nothing concrete about his move from the site where he has operated for 24 years.
Pan Am Games starting date: 18 July 2003
The president of the Organizing Committee of the Pan American Games, Jose Joaquin Puello announced that the Santo Domingo Games would start on 18 July 2003. He said the inaugural ceremony would commence at 6 pm, as published in the Listin Diario.
DR to participate in Special Olympics World Winter Games
The Dominican Republic will participate in the Special Olympics Alaska, the world winter games for persons with special needs. The DR will take a 12 athletes to compete in floor hockey. The event is from 4-11 March in Anchorage, Alaska.
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