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Daily News - 18 April 2001
The Clintons visit Casa de Campo
Hoy newspaper says that Bill and Hillary Clinton visited Casa de Campo yesterday. They arrived by left by helicopter service. Clinton reportedly played a round of golf with friends at the La Romana resort. Press access to the famous couple has been totally restricted as they have requested privacy on their vacation.
Mexico seeks DR support for its Security Council seat hopes
President Hipolito Mejia confirmed Mexico's interest in getting the DR's support for its aspiration to a seat on the United Nations Security Council. President Mejia said he would speak with President Vicente Fox on the matter when they meet in Quebec for the Free Trade Summit of the Americas on 22 and 23 April. President Fox sent his personal aide Andres Rosenthal to Santo Domingo to discuss the matter with President Mejia.
Senator and economist call for cabinet resignations
Senator Darío Gomez (Santiago Rodirugez-PRD) said yesterday that President Mejia should require the resignation of his entire cabinet to restore the people's confidence in the government. Hours earlier, economist Felix Calvo, director of the State Enterprises Corporation (CORDE), urged that President Mejia request the resignation of his economic team to restructure it free from political pressures. Calvo has opposed the government borrowing abroad and the issuing of sovereign bonds to resolve the fiscal deficit.
New tax announced for small companies
The Direccion General de Impuestos Internos, the local income tax department, announced the application of a rule that establishes that companies and business owners with income of less than RD$6 million a year need to pay a monthly tax on income generated in the DR.
Companies or business people making RD$0 to RD$2 million a year will have to pay a 0.75% tax on their income.
Those making RD$2 million to RD$4 million, need to pay 1%.
Those making RD$4 million to RD$6 million, need to pay 1.12%.
Companies with income over RD$6 million must pay a 1.5% monthly tax.
This is to be known as the Regimen de Estimacion Simple, and must be paid every three months. The same companies pay the ITBIS every month as well.
Logistics of Dominican vote abroad should concern all Dominicans
In 1997 the political parties approved a change to the electoral law that authorized the absentee vote of Dominicans. El Caribe newspaper today looks into the organizational problems given the large numbers of Dominicans who live abroad. It is estimated that Dominicans residing abroad could represent 8% of the total vote count, thus absentee Dominicans could decide a close election. El Caribe warns that work needs to be done to bring credibility to the government-party controlled consulates that would be used as voting centers. It also suggests controls on the costs of the vote abroad since they could amount to more than paying the airfare of every Dominican who wants to vote in the 2004 election. The DR has probably one of the largest expatriate populations of any American nation living in the US and Europe.
Rafael Lantigua, head of the governing party in New York, says there is apathy on behalf of the political parties (his included) and the electoral authorities to organize the vote abroad. He says political groups abroad could go as far as to challenge the 2004 elections if absentee voting is not implemented for the next presidential election.
Luis Arias, in charge of the absentee vote at the Junta Central Electoral, the government body that organizes the elections, put the blame for the organizational delays on the political parties and the Ministry of Foreign Relations. He said that only the PRSC has given its go ahead to the procedure.
What happened with the ship?
An apparent conflict of interests may immerse the DR in an international conflict. The Dominican Port Authority confirmed yesterday that the reason it did not allow the freighter SL Service Inc.'s CSX Crusader to dock in Haina was that the ship did not present a cargo manifest 48 hours in advance and did not deliver to a licensed shipping company. The Dominican Association of Shippers stands by the decision of the Port Authority (Apordom).
SL Service took over the operations of Sealand in the Dominican Republic, according to news reports.
The company denies it did not have a permission to dock. Anibal Garcia Duverge of Apordom said that the captain of the ship was given the option of docking here by converting the ship into its own shipping agent as Dominican law permits, but he chose to voluntarily depart.
Case against privatization is political, says PLD senators
Yesterday, Senator Rafael Abinader and advisor Manuel Casals Victoria delivered to Attorney General Virgilio Bello Rosa the case against former President Leonel Fernandez and those who participated in the privatization of the Dominican Electricity Corporation. Fernandez is accused of defrauding the Dominican state of RD$40,000 million. The PLD senators question the qualifications of those who prepared the report, saying that it was a confidential document that was made public even before being discussed in the Senate. "The report is nothing but another political instrument to discredit Leonel Fernandez and his government, the privatization process and former government officers," say the PLD senators.
The PRD-majority Senate recently authorized a seven-year contract extension of the same privatized electricity distributors that are criticized in the report.
President decorates Dominican musician and former Spanish chancellor
President Hipolito Mejia decorated world-renowned musician, composer and music arranger Jose Antonio Molina at the National Palace yesterday. Molina received the decoration in the company of his parents Josefina Miniño, recognized for her efforts in support of Dominican folk dancing, and Papa Molina, one of the most outstanding Dominican band leaders of all time.
During the same ceremony held at the Salon de Embajadores, former Spanish Minister of Foreign Relations and hotel entrepreneur Abel Matutes was recognized for his efforts on behalf of the DR in the Lome IV agreement.
Siamese twins born at Plaza de la Salud
Physicians at the Plaza de la Salud medical center are seeking a hospital in the US that would be willing to operate on Siamese twins born on Saturday, 10 April. The twins are joined at the chest and abdomen, share a single liver, but have separate digestive tracts and their hearts could function separately. They weighed 11 lbs. at birth and were born at 7.5 months by c-section.
Eight hour blackout affects the Cibao
Residents in Puerto Plata, Bonao, Santiago, La Vega, San Francisco and Salcedo suffered an eight hour blackout yesterday. The Edenorte power distributor says the blackout was caused when the Smith-Enron power plant of Puerto Plata went out of service. They also attribute the blackout that affected 50% of the Cibao provinces to problems on the Santiago-Canabacoa transmission line.
Meanwhile, the Dominican Electricity Corporation said that the blackout should have only affected six circuits and that Edenorte should give a better explanation as to why power was shut off at another 10 circuits. CDE says the problem occurred on the power line from Puerto Plata to Navarette.
Codetel announces new technologies
The largest Dominican telecommunications company, Codetel, has announced a US$241 million investment this year. A large amount of it will go to install new technologies, Jorge Ivan Ramirez, president of the company, told the Listin Diario. One of the most innovative is the possibility that mobile phones could be used as credit and debit cards. This would be possible after a direct link with banks is set up that will allow financial transactions through mobile phones for every kind of purchase from beer to soft drinks sold in vending machines.
Dominican businessmen meet Aristide in Haiti
A group of 23 Dominican businessmen traveled to Haiti yesterday to back up the Hispaniola Investment Fund and meet with President Jean Bertrand Aristide. The Dominican businessmen are willing to do business with Haiti, installing joint ventures, free zone industries and other operations. The Hispaniola Investment Fund is a proposal to create a fund by converting the DR's foreign debt to the United States. The fund would be invested in business operations along the Haitian-Dominican border and other projects to foster development in Haiti. Among those meeting with Aristide were: Marino Ginebra (president of the National Council of Dominican Business), Ramon Prieto (president of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants), Jose Clase (president of the National Association of Dominican Free Zones), Luis Alvarez Renta, Luis Manuel Bonetti, Jose Vitienes, Fernando Capellan, Marcos Troncoso, Jose Rafael Mera, Radhames Martinez Aponte, Frederic Emam Zade, Manuel Tavarez and Ellis Perez.
German development agency meets here
The German social and technical cooperation agency, DED, is holding its annual meeting at the Coral Hamaca of Boca Chica. DED cooperation programs in the DR are worth more than US$300 million a year. The money is mostly donated for rural development, environment, community development and farming projects.
Presidente Latin Music Festival
El Siglo newspaper reports that the Presidente Beer Latin Music Festival will take place 1, 2, and 3 July at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium. Scheduled to perform are Cristina Aguilera, Grupo Mana, Alejandro Sanz, Servando y Florentino, Ricardo Arjona, Eros Ramazotti and Marc Anthony.
Dominican bands that will take the stage are: Eddy Herrera, Sergio Vargas, Rubby Perez, Los Hermanos Rosario, Los Toros Band, Toño Rosario and Ciudad de Angeles.
The Presidente Beer company has not made a final announcement, probably waiting to finalize all the contracts.
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