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Daily News - 30 March 2001
Mad father takes hostage at Ministry of Agriculture
Acting President Milagros Ortiz Bosch personally unarmed an apparently perturbed agronomist who desperately wanted his pay check at the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday. News reports say that at around 8:20 am Rodolfo Delmonte Beras, a long time employee of the Ministry who is in charge of the Porcine Department, put a knife to the throat of co-worker Luis A. Sang, who is deputy director of the Cattle Ranching Department. Delmonte demanded the presence of Cadena de Noticias radio and television news network and TV producer Freddy Beras Goico.
Speaking in a confused manner, he stated he wanted to tell his plight of being a father suffering under the child support law (14-94) which allows his employer to deduct child support from his salary. He protested on TV and radio the RD$1,500 monthly deductions to his
wages made for child support.
"What I want is to be paid on time and here they are not doing it, because they say that the judge's sentence ordered them not to, which has led me to this," El Caribe newspaper quoted him as saying.
After disarming the agronomist, acting President Ortiz said that Delmonte was a desperate and confused man.
Minister of Agriculture Eligio Jaquez said that no action would be taken against Delmonte until a psychiatric report was prepared. After handing the knife to Acting President Ortiz, at around 11 am, he was taken to the Armed Forces and Police Hospital for a medical check up, according to El Siglo.
Cellular phone use while driving to be banned
The Chamber of Deputies passed the second reading of a bill that would ban drivers from using cellular phones while driving. The bill makes an exception for those using hands free mobile phones.
Schools free to set dues
The National Education Council (CNE) ruled that private schools will be able to adjust registration and dues according to inflation, levels of investment in the schools, training of personnel and other benefits granted to school staff. Ordinance 1-2001 postpones the indexing of dues charged by the private schools for next year. Last year President Mejia
signed a law that was supposed to regulate private school charges starting with the 2001-2002 school year.
This law was disputed by the private school sector as undermining their ability to maintain quality at the schools.
Government enjoys surplus in February
The National Budget for February shows a surplus of RD$126.4 million according to a statement published in the press today. The statement indicates that the government spent RD$4,155.6
million, and received RD$4,282 million.
Tax revenues were up at the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos. That department had budgeted RD$4,260.5 million and collected RD$4,630.1 million.
But the Customs Department collected less. Revenues were down at Customs, which had budgeted RD$2,728.5 million and only collected RD$2,276 million.
Current expenditures are 68.3% of total expenditures, or RD$6,374.7 million of a RD$9,339.9 million total.
The government spent RD$3,207 million on public employee wages, or 34.3% of the total current expenditures.
Jeep purchase loans granted individually
Minister of Sports Minister of Sports Cesar Cedeño confirmed that the
Banco de Reservas authorized an RD$15.1 million lending package for 28 officers of the sports department. He said that the government commercial bank nevertheless holds each individual responsible for paying back the loan. The terms of the loans were not disclosed. But
Hoy newspaper says that the vehicles range in cost from RD$255,000 to RD$835,000.
New NGO follow-up council created
President Hipolito Mejia, as per Decree 407-2001 of March 21, creates
the National Non-Governmental Agency Follow-Up Council. The new council is responsible for supervising, evaluating and controlling the use of state funds by non-governmental agencies.
ICDA becomes a university
With Decree 389-01, President Hipolito Mejia turns the Dominican-American Cultural Institute (ICDA) into a full-fledged university. The government has authorized the ICDA to offer university degrees in business administration, tourism and hotel business administration, marketing and advertising. Also authorized are degrees in education in the areas of the arts, English as a second language, pre-school education, grade school education and information technology.
ICDA began as a language school, diversifying into a primary and secondary school.
Foreign doctors need to get their papers in order
The Ministry of Public Health instructed provincial health directors to give final terms to foreign-educated doctors that are working illegally as physicians in the DR. Minister of Health Jose Rodriguez Soldevilla issued the statement in compliance with a request from the Dominican Medical Association. The AMD complained about the growing numbers of foreign doctors who are working without a license to practice in the DR.
Focus on helicopters
President Mejia said he will explain about the purchase of 11 US-made
helicopters and 120 all-terrain vehicles for the Army. Journalists sought an explanation for why the government did not tender the purchase procedure for the helicopters.
President Mejia returned earlier than announced yesterday, arriving at 5:25 pm from his trip to Taiwan.
He said he would instruct the Minister of the Armed Forces, Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez, to give an explanation on the matter. Reportedly, Eximbank is financing the US$10.3 million purchase.
El Caribe newspaper ran the story on this contract and comments on another major purchase by the government for the Navy. The Navy recently announced the government is borrowing US$23 million to purchase coast guard patrol boats and speed boats to improve patrolling of Dominican coasts in the fight against drug trafficking.
The editorial writer of El Caribe says it is ironic that at a time when the US coast guard is reducing the scope of their patrols, the DR is
taking up the cost of this effort. The editorial writer says the US should provide the equipment so that the DR Navy can patrol the territorial waters since the fight against drug trafficking is motivated by high US consumption. The editorial writer argues that the cost of this fight should not come out of the Dominican budget.
Regarding the cost of patrolling the Haitian frontier, the editorial writer of El Caribe says it would be cheaper to increase the penalties on Dominican employers making it less attractive for them to hire illegal Haitians.
Mejia administration under increasing criticism
The Mejia administration is under much criticism these days for its decisions and subsequent changes of mind, and for issuing decrees that are being disputed for having illegal clauses. The government mishaps have been so frequent since its start that the revoking of decrees
has almost become the norm.
The El Siglo newspaper editorialist today suggests that if the President would seek the company of the nation's best in his cabinet this could be avoided.
The newspaper reminds President Mejia that even Dictator Trujillo sought the best minds for his government. He recalls that Trujillo looked for men more educated than he, the most cultured, with the most formal studies. "He sought and hired experts in banking, university level education, commercial law," reads the editorial.
The editorial says that the basic mission of government is to organize collective services and to do this requires capable people who are dedicated to their tasks.
The editorial specifically mentions that the legal advisor to the Executive Branch should draft bills or supervise their drafting so that they are not contradictory or ambivalent.
The editorial urges the President to seek the cooperation of people with "experience, equanimity and wisdom." It states that their job would be to prevent the head of government from being placed in difficult situations.
"When a government officer has his own political agenda, the President will, in the best of cases, have to suffer somersault after somersault. It is impossible to maintain social peace, economic growth and political power without capable ministers who watch over the form and fundaments, the details and the content," concludes the editorial writer.
Dominican travel marketplace takes place in La Romana
The Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange, DATE 2001, opened on Thursday at the Casa de Campo convention center in La Romana. The event will last through Saturday. The aim of the marketplace is to make it easier for Dominican hotels and US travel package buyers to do business.
Carrefour announces RD$700 million expansion
Carrefour, the world's second largest retailer, announced it would be investing RD$700 million to expand its Plaza Duarte store. Carrefour opened last year with a supermarket, eight stores, two banks and seven food vending shops. The expansion calls for the construction and sale of 65 new shops within the complex located on the outskirts of Santo Domingo.
Agustin Santos called a press conference to dispute reports that the chain was leaving the DR. He said that sales are down as in other stores given the slowdown of the economy. He denied rumors that the company had sold shares to the Centro Cuesta Nacional,
and that the government had exonerated them of paying the 1.5% gross sales tax so they would stay.
Santos said that the company established a new category of responsible tax payers in the DR by acting with absolute transparency before the authorities.
Sources say that the level of taxes paid by Carrefour in its first months of operation led the government to improve supervision of the operations of other large supermarket chains that for years had been paying little in taxes.
Estrellas ball team changes hands
The Antun family has sold most of their shares of the Estrellas to the Musa family, also of San Pedro de Macoris. Dr. Carlos Juan Musa, the new president of the Estrellas Orientales, the San Pedro de Macoris professional baseball team, made the announcement. He confirmed Pablo Peguero as general manager of the team. "Trust that we will do what has to be done to end the championship losing streak," said Musa. He had been the team's vice president for the past four years.
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