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Daily News - 19 April 2001
Update on the Clintons
Bill and Hillary Clinton visited the Centro Educativo Punta Cana, a bilingual education grade school in Punta Cana yesterday, and allowed their photographs to be taken along with the school children. The Clintons are here on a rest and relaxation trip and have allowed scant access to their activities.
Some 117 students go to the school. Most are children of employees in Punta Cana hotels. They were accompanied on the visit by Frank and Haydee Rainieri, promoters of the Punta Cana tourism project. El Siglo newspaper's Orlando Gil features details in his column today on the Clinton's visit to La Romana/Casa de Campo over the weekend. Gil says Bill Clinton played golf there with former Vice President Carlos Morales Troncoso (who was ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Washington when Clinton was President), and Argentine businessman Rolando Gonzalez Bunster, president of the Wartsila power plant operations in the DR. Gonzalez Bunster reportedly studied with Clinton at the University of Georgetown. They were joined by Bryant Greenspan, described as a top executive of a Nevada newspaper. Reportedly, Clinton and Morales defeated the Gonzalez and Greenspan twosome. They later had lunch at the Casa de Campo home of Gonzalez Bunster in company with executives of Central Romana, including Papo Menendez and Claudio Silvestre of Premier Hotels.
President Mejia leaves for Quebec
President Mejia left this morning at 8 am on a private jet for New York en route to Quebec, Canada to participate in the III Summit of the Americas. He is making a nine-hour stopover in New York where he is scheduled to give a conference at the University of Columbia and attend a dinner in his honor.
In Quebec he will be staying at the Hotel Chateau Frontenac. Traveling with him are Minister of Foreign Relations Hugo Tolentino Dipp, Chief of Protocol Carlos Guzman, press spokesman Luis Gonzalez Fabra and Major General Carlos Luciano Diaz.
President Mejia asks Dominicans to have confidence in the future
President Hipolito Mejia urged Dominicans to have faith that there are better days ahead. "I know that we have had difficult times. We have had to take very strong measures, but these things pass and soon after this process passes, I am sure the waters will return to their usual levels and the forces of the economy and commerce will impose themselves," said the President. He urged that the population trust the economic and social measures implemented by the government and called out for people to have faith in the destiny of the nation. He spoke while attending the swearing in of the new board of the Federacion Nacional de Comerciantes Detallistas de Provisiones, a large retailers union.
Minister of Education announces computer training program
Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch, who is also the Minister of Education, announced yesterday the implementation of an ambitious computer education program in public schools. She said her department has available 3,600 scholarships for teachers interested in training to become computer education instructors. She said that one of the leading aides of the Clinton administration on the matter is their advisor.
Lack of Haitian army puts extra burden on Dominican military
Major General Manuel Ernesto Polanco justified the purchase of new equipment for the army yesterday. The army has secured a US$10 million loan to purchase helicopters and all terrain equipment to patrol the border. He said that since Haiti's army was dismantled the entire burden of patroling the frontier is left to the Dominican military. They guard the border to avoid illegal entry of Haitians, weapons and illicit drugs. He spoke during the commemoration of the 157th anniversary of the Navy, in the presence of President Hipolito Mejia.
Artificial lake at the Yaque del Norte river bed
The Mejia administration announced the start of construction of a lake and two lagoons at the river bed of the Yaque del Norte river in the province of Santiago. The program is part of efforts to rescue the river from years of contamination. The program calls for a RD$350 million investment in its first phase as reported by El Siglo newspaper.
President Mejia tells senator to mind his own business
President Mejia told a member of his own party, Senator Dario Gmez (PRD-Santiago Rodriguez), to mind his own business. He was reacting to the latter's suggestion that the President fire his economic team. "He should make laws, not govern the DR. Everyone should mind their own business," said Mejia. He spoke after leaving the Patronato de la Zona Colonial where he met with Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez and Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch to discuss a US$50 million project to enhance the Colonial City of Santo Domingo. Also present were Secretary of the Presidency, Sergio Grullon, Minister of Culture Tony Raful and Major Johnny Ventura. The project would be financed by the Interamerican Development Bank.
PRSC deputies urge Lockward to resign
PRSC deputies requested yesterday that Minister of Industry and Commerce Angel Lockward resign his post out of a sense of shame. Angel Lockward is a controversial member of the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano that accepted a post in the PRD Mejia cabinet. PRD deputies don't like him either and would also like him to resign because they feel his performance harms the political organization. The PRD deputies will ask him to visit Congress for questioning.
Lockward reacted by saying that whether he stays or not depends solely on President Mejia.
He delivered a reformed Petroleum Law to President Mejia. His modifications would allow the President discretion in setting fuel prices. This would contradict the spirit of the law which was to remove politics from the ups and downs of petroleum prices. Lockward has already violated the law by adding new charges to the price of fuel.
The recent 25% increase in the cost of propane gas announced by his department during the Easter holiday has met with widespread opposition.
Budget director confirms government revises budget numbers
Luis Ernesto Perez Cuevas, director of the National Budget Office (ONAPRES), announced the government has reduced its income projections for 2001 by RD$5,000 million. Originally, the government had expected to reap RD$65,000 million, but it now says prospects are for RD$60,000 million. He said the government is reducing budgets for employee expense accounts, supplies and subsidies including a 25% reduction in the propane gas subsidy.
Pedro Silverio of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra economic research center, Cenantillas, forecasts that government income will more likely be closer to RD$55,000 million.
Newspaper editorial urges IDB financing
El Caribe newspaper in its editorial today expresses its concern for the slow implementation of the promised government social package that would have compensated low income sectors of the population for the new taxes that went into effect in January. The editorial says the tax reform has been a disincentive to private investment and that public investment makes up barely 20% of the government's disbursements. All this at a time when petroleum prices remain high, the Euro is weak and the US economy has slowed down, comments the editorial.
"Our government instead of using the soft loans made available by the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank continues to negotiate expensive financing with private suppliers with an absolute lack of transparency. Luckily, macroeconomic stability has been maintained," states the editorial.
The newspaper says the government has been forced to cut subsidies in order to maintain its high payroll and keep public investment to a minimum. This is a bad solution for the economy and for the government party, says El Caribe.
Instead, the newspaper suggests the government hand over the implementation of its social plan to the civic society and religious groups, and use government surplus to fund the IDB and World Bank loans counterparts so these can be disbursed. It says that this might result in savings that will enable the government to maintain at least the energy sector subsidies.
Public Health Minister complains of excess employment
Minister of Public Health Jose Rodriguez Soldevila complained yesterday that there are too many people on his payroll. He said the new staff is causing payroll problems. He said the Budget Office returned this month's payroll because of an excess of employees that brought the wage total to more than what was budgeted. This has resulted in delays in the payment of public health sector wages. He said that personnel expenditures increased by RD$25 million this month, up to RD$275 million, as reported in Hoy newspaper.
WTO Ambassador urges passing of market code
Federico Cuello, permanent representative of the DR to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, urges passage of the Market Ordering Code in an article in El Caribe newspaper today. He said it is urgent this code be approved along with the Electricity Bill. He says this code would eliminate oligopolistic conditions that benefit power distributors to the detriment of consumers.
Cuello says the market code would prohibit abuse by the distributors and believes distributors should not be allowed to generate more than 20% of the total market.
He prefers the separation of functions by the players in the market. He emphasizes that conditions must be created so there is fair competition in the marketplace.
Puerto Rican could be new US ambassador to DR
El Caribe newspaper publishes that the US has requested the Dominican government name Puerto Rican lawyer Hans H. Hertell as the new US ambassador to the DR. Charles Manatt, another political appointee, left in March after a short term as ambassador.
Hertell is recognized as a leading Republican Party fund-raiser. He was born in Puerto Rico and is a law graduate of the University of Puerto Rico and Fordham University.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations did not confirm or refute the appointment of Hertell.
For more information on Hertell, see http://www.tpj.org/pioneers/hans_hertell.html
http://www.sltrib.com/2001/feb/02092001/nation_w/69784.htm
A move to force mega port promoters to negotiate?
The Listin Diario reports today on the impasse between SL Services Inc./CSX and the Port Authority and the Dominican Association of Shippers. The newspaper's sources say that the CSX Crusader freighter was prevented from docking at Haina port on 9 April in order to pressure SL Services to negotiate with sectors that feel they are being left out of the new construction of the Punta Caucedo mega port. The new US$300 million port is slated to replace Haina as the DR's main sea port.
Promoters have announced all is ready for the construction of the new port to start this summer.
SL Services is owned by a holding company presided over by John Snow, a lawyer and economist who is also president of Verizon, proprietor of Codetel, the Dominican Republic's leading telecommunications company.
President Hipolito Mejia has given his go ahead to the construction of the Punta Caucedo megaport. The port already had been authorized by former President Leonel Fernández, but the promoters delayed the start of construction to secure the support of President Mejia.
The port complex construction should be completed in a year and a half.
The new port will have an extension of 820,000 square meters, and 1,100 meters of coastal frontage facing the Caribbean Sea. In addition to the dock, the port will feature 500,000 square meters for transshipment operations and a 300,000 square meter warehouse and distribution area.
Listin Diario says that SL Service Inc. has taken the Dominican Port Authority to court demanding the suspending of a resolution that affects the former Sealand Services operations. The case will next be heard at the Tribunal de lo Contencioso y Administrativo. The resolution establishes that Sealand contractual rights to the port have expired and the Dominican Port Authority in December 2000 was awarded control of the Haina facility, regarding programming of docking of ships, cargo handling, vigilance and security operations. Sources explained to the Listin Diario that shipping companies that are being left out of the new port that will be managed by CSX World Terminals of North Carolina feel they will be left with just charging for freight and that they will no longer have control over loading and unloading of cargo services, where the real profits in the industry are made.
The sources indicate that Punta Caucedo will quickly replace the Port of Haina's obsolete facilities- it is disorganized and not deep enough to receive large ships.
The Listin Diario says that the president of the Dominican Shipping Association, Arias Mella convinced the director of the Port Authority not to allow the CSX Crusader ship to enter to send a message that the project would not move ahead if they are not allowed to participate.
German contract cancellations affect Sosua
ARA Hoteles, a small hotel chain with operations in Sosua, Las Terrenas and Cabarete confirmed it has closed down its operations for the rest of the season. Club Tropicana, Club Costa Tropical, Club Casa Linda, Club Villa Chelsea, Residencial Casa Linda, Club Las Orquideas were closed, affecting 234 employees.
Tony Alvarez told the press he closed after German tour operator FTI Touristik and Caoba Tours announced the unilateral termination of their contract. He said the companies left ARA with an outstanding US$800,000 debt. Caoba Tours representative Ruben Gutierrez said in the Listin Diario today that the closing came after they received more complaints than usual from German tourists regarding hotel services.
Furthermore, the Listin Diario reports that Britannia Airways would no longer transport the German passengers. Michael Leissler, president of Caoba Tours, said the airline had reduced its flights from 60 a month last year to 33 a month this winter season. Argentina Leon de Brugal, director of tourism in Puerto Plata, said that when the abrupt closing of the hotels occurred, the tourists were protected. They were given upgrades to better hotels in the area than what they had originally booked.
She said the Tourism Ministry would be carrying out an investigation into what happened with the contract.
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