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Mejia to Washington Dominican Republic Ambassador in Washington Hugo Guiliani Cury confirmed that President Mejia will be the keynote speaker at the 26 September luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. El Caribe reports Mejia will travel to Washington as part of Dominican Week activities in that city. Mejia was just in Washington in July. Minister of Foreign Relations Hugo Tolentino Dipp had said the President could make a stopover in Washington, as he returns from a planned trip to Japan. El Caribe newspaper says that in his talk, President Mejia would focus on the country’s interest in signing a FTA with the US. Dr. Luis Heredia Bonetti, principal of Russin, Vecchi, Heredia Bonetti a Santo Domingo law firm, organizes Dominican Week, now in its 8th year. The week is dedicated to recognizing the values of the Dominican people along with promoting the academic, artistic, cultural and business activities in US communities. This year’s event is taking place 20-27 September. For more information, see http://www.rvhb.com |
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Electricity Regulation to be revised President Hipolito Mejia announced he favors revising the Electricity Regulation that accompanies Law 125-01 and would go into effect on 1 September. The government has been under pressure primarily by the power distributors to eliminate clauses that would oblige the distributors to meet their commitments and would empower consumers to demand better service or receive credits. As reported in Hoy newspaper, President Mejia said that he is entrusting the revision to the governmental Power Commission. The commission is above the Superintendent of Power, which submitted the ruling after several months of talks with the different players. The ruling was the first time the government published a framework to protect consumers against abuses by the power companies. Now, the President is justifying the revision on the grounds that all the parties had not reached a consensus. El Caribe says that AES Ede Este has proposed modifications to more than 10 articles in the regulations of Law 125-01. Reportedly, the company wants to pass the 1% fee to fund the Superintendency and the National Power Commission onto consumers. The newspaper says that Union Fenosa’s Edenorte and Edesur want to modify Art. 44 that requires the generator companies to sell 40% of their power to the spot market. Union Fenosa and AES have invested heavily in power generation. The AES and Union Fenosa companies also reject the article that prohibits them from detecting and then penalizing a fraud, which they now currently do. The regulation establishes that the Superintendence of Power is the judge in such cases of power distributors versus consumers. |
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Duquesa landfill belongs to all municipalities President Hipolito Mejia, speaking on the Una Vez a la Semana TV program on Channel 4 Sunday, said that the Duquesa waste disposal site belongs to all the municipalities that make up the former area of the National District. The National District was split, and the mayor of the municipality where it is geographically located, Santo Domingo North, claims the right to operate the landfill and charge the other municipalities for its use. “The garbage dump is the property of all the city governments, of all the municipalities and all the mayors,” said the President. |
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Health services for public school students Students at government-run grade schools will benefit from an expansion of the School Health Services prevention program starting this year. The nationwide program includes dental services, vaccinations, eyesight testing, and the supply of iron and vitamin to students ages three to 14 years old. The program seeks to prevent illnesses and assist students in developing their true growth potential. The Ministry of Education will be working closely with the Ministry of Public Health to implement the programs. Dental programs will be offered at 10 mobile units that will be sent to Barahona, San Cristobal, San Pedro de Macoris, La Vega, San Francisco de Macoris, Santiago, Mao, Cotui and two in Santo Domingo. The Ministry of Public Health also services 400 of the 10,000 public schools with permanent dental services. |
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Seven careers dominate at UASD Diario Libre reports that of the 114 careers in seven schools of the UASD, the state university, 65% of the students are concentrated in seven professions. 118,395 students are enrolled in state university programs that start in September. Of these, four careers encompass more than half of the enrollment. These are the careers of Medicine, Engineering, Education, and Law with 63,221 students. Other popular careers are Management and Marketing with 14,646 students, Accounting with 12,363, and Advertising with 3,831. Some 500 students from the United States, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Ecuador, and India and Pakistan are also enrolled. They pay about US$600 per semester, while Dominicans pay RD$120. |
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Peynado seeks to be PRSC candidate Former Vice President Jacinto Peynado formally announced he would seek the presidential nomination for the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano in the 2004 presidential election. He becomes the first politician to formally announce his candidacy. In the event held to launch his candidacy, he criticized the government’s policy of taking on debt with foreign commercial banks. Aspirants to run on the PRSC ticket can register their intent with the party up to 16 September. Party president, Rafael Bello Andino said the party will show that among their ranks are many leaders, disciples of the best of teachers, doctor Joaquin Balaguer, the late long-time president of the party and most sage of Dominican politicians of all times. |
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Haiti Embassy issues ID papers The Embassy of Haiti has issued 31,000 ID papers to Haitian adults residing illegally in the Dominican Republic, according to Ambassador Guy Alexandre. The Haitian government is only issuing the ID papers to Haitian adults, not to minors, regardless of where they were born. Most Haitians in Haiti and those making clandestine crossings of the Dominican border do not have ID papers of any sort. This has brought major headaches to the local authorities at the time of providing social services, such as education to their children. Guy Alexandre admitted the massive immigration of indigent Haitians is a great burden to social services in the Dominican Republic, but he said this is because there are no jobs in Haiti and there is a demand of low-cost labor in the Dominican Republic. Alexandre also said that trade between both countries is up. |
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Foreign business has advantages over locals Listin Diario editorial today points out that the government has awarded privileges to favor foreign investment versus locally-owned business. He points out that the repatriation of US$600 million in profits of foreign business during the first half of this year is a matter of concern to the economic team of the government because of its direct impact on the balance of payments. The Listin Diario says that the phenomenon came about because the privatization of the public sector was negotiated with foreign investors that reap large profits and export these, re-investing very little in the country. The newspaper says the government has been prone to favor foreigners versus local investors that are more likely to reinvest in the country and spend their earnings in the Dominican Republic. It tells the story of one company on whose main product the government had put a price cap of RD$42 that forced the company to sell out to foreigners. Today the product under foreign ownership sells for RD$97 to the public and the government has looked the other way. Listin Diario writes the government cannot impose their criteria on foreign companies because they then appeal to embassies that lobby on their behalf. The lobbying is successful, and in many cases the government has authorized privileges to the foreign companies that would not have been granted to local companies. The increasing sellout of local companies to foreign multinationals and the increase in the profit repatriations reflect this new trend. The Listin recommends that the government revise what it can do so that the local entrepreneurs do not have to sell to foreigners. It states that if the government does not make an effort to support local capitalists, the balance of payment problems will become even more serious. |
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Private sector borrowing decreases Diario Libre reports that the financing to the private sector declined 12% in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year. According to the Central Bank, banks had placed RD$8.3 billion as of 31 July with the private sector. In contrast, local bank loans to the government were up a half billion, from RD$12.5 billion to RD$13.1 by the end of July. The Central Bank says that interest rates are up 6% compared to last year. |
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Bus operators protest The Union de Propietarios de Autobuses, a union of bus companies, is protesting the government decision to back two transporters unions, Fenatrado and Conatra with the governmental Plan Renove. In a paid advertisement in the press today, they say that Plan Renove calls for the government to borrow US$265 million to purchase about 7,000 buses, minibuses and microbuses to be distributed to members of those unions. They protest the government’s use of money for that program at the expense of other sectors of the economy. The press release also mentions a public rumor that million dollar commissions are being exchanged. The bus union protests this on grounds that they use their own money to purchase their own units over the years without having to resort to strikes, pressures or blackmail methods. Fenatrado and Conatra are among the unions most known to pressure the government with transport and nationwide strikes over the years. The Union de Propietarios de Autobuses says the decision to favor these two unions over the other private operators will bring about the bankruptcy of the real private transport operators. They say that if the government decides to go ahead with the program, the President should purchase all their fleets so they can watch from the stands how the Plan Renove marks the demise of the transport sector in the Dominican Republic and so that the Dominican people will clearly know who is to blame. Over the years, Dominican governments have implemented similar programs to benefit the powerful transport unions at the expense of taxpayers, as the beneficiaries of these vehicles have traditionally paid very little or nothing in the past for these. |
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Aeromar increases STI and SDQ frequencies Aeromar announced it would discontinue nonstop service from Puerto Plata to New York (JFK) effective on 21 November 2002. The airline will be concentrating on its Santiago flights (less than an hour from Puerto Plata airport) and will increase the frequency of these from 1 to 2 flights a day on 21 November 2002.
The new schedule of Aeromar Santiago flights will be:
The airline also announced it will increase frequency from Santo Domingo (Las Americas) to New York from one to two flights a day on 21 November. The schedule for those flights is as follows: |
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A peculiar photo exhibition Photographer Faustino Perez is behind an original exhibition at the Centro Cultural de España. On exhibit are signs reflecting what he describes is a blind of local ignorance and the magic realism of Latin America. The collection of photos taken of signs offering services and products of all kinds is one of a kind. Perez explains that the signs of a utilitarian nature which makes them different from graffiti, which is a more personalized and anonymous. |
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