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Export revenues sent to open market The Monetary Board ruled yesterday that free zone manufacturing and non-traditional export revenues could now be cashed at commercial banks and exchange houses. The monetary authorities also released limitations on the purchase of foreign currency for medical and travel expenses and credit card payments. The 27 August resolution explains that the Dominican economy needs to move ahead in the process of opening and liberalization of markets as a necessary condition to promote competitiveness and efficiency of the productive sectors. The announcement comes at a time the Dominican peso declined in value to RD$19 to the US dollar. |
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Social Security system ready for November? The implementation of Social Security Law 87-01 on the first of November may be postponed. Spokesmen for the private sector feel not all systems are in place to make it work adequately. The Listin Diario editorial today focuses on the possibility of a postponement of the plan that would expand the coverage to three million Dominicans. The newspaper mentions that these are difficult times for businesses to take up the additional cost of implementing the plan. In addition, the government would have to disburse an estimated RD$4 billion to get the scheme working. Ernesto Izquierdo, president of the Asociacion Dominicana de Administradoras de Riesgos de Salud, that groups the companies that will be offering health insurance under the new legal scheme, argues that the Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Social (CNSS), the national social security council that is overseeing the implementation of the law, has yet to approve the regulations. The government also has yet to sign off on the contract with the company that won the tender for the installation of the needed accounting systems. But CNSS general manager Arismendy Diaz Santana dismisses the concerns, saying that all the regulations will be ready within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, Hoy newspaper focuses on the conflict regarding the massive cancellations of memberships in the governmental Dominican Social Security Institute (IDSS). IDSS hospitals were paralyzed today as medics protested the cancellation of memberships by private business. Private businesses are canceling the memberships of their employees in order to affiliate these exclusively with private insurance companies. The conflict could also affect the start of the Seguro Familiar de Salud (family health insurance) and the Plan Basico de Salud (basic health plan) on the scheduled 1 November. |
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Cutting the trees of Beata Island The Navy arrested 66 Haitians accusing these of chopping down trees in the Beata and Alto Vela islands for use as charcoal. The Haitians, which included 18 women, are also accused of illegal fishing activities in the protected area. They were sent to the Department of Migration for deportation processing. They were living in the Isla Beata itself and in the coastal communities of Piticabo, Tridiye and Lansaso. The arrests were made as part of Operacion Agua Blanca, an operation ordered by the new Navy chief in the protected areas. |
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New government appointment Edwin Rafael Espinal Hernandez replaces Mariel Leon as director of the Oficina Nacional de Derecho Autor, the National Copyright Office. |
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Excess government payroll El Caribe newspaper editorial says that recent statements by the new Mayor of Santo Domingo Roberto Salcedo and the new chief of the Army, Major General Carlos Luciano Diaz Morfa are proof of the employee excess in government at a high cost to taxpayers. The excess also affects productivity and efficiency of government services. New Mayor Roberto Salcedo said he would only need 3,000 employees to manage the city government. This is down from 15,000 employees in city hall at present. The new chief of the Army, Major General Carlos Luciano Diaz Morfa said that half of the 22,000 soldiers under his command are at the service of government officers and state institutions outside the military, in addition to private companies. The military increased its payroll 7% from June 2001 to June 2002, following the government’s lead which has been increasing steadily over the years. |
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Solving the power problems in six months Israeli ambassador in the Dominican Republic Eliahu Lopez told Hoy newspaper that Israeli companies could solve the Dominican power problems in six months time. “If the government asks, I can bring people and equipment to solve this problem in six months, although I want to clarify that I am not giving advice to the Dominican government,” he said in an interview with Hoy yesterday. In the interview, he also explained that Israeli exports to the Dominican Republic are up 225% this year. The Dominican Republic has imported farm machinery, irrigation equipment, pharmaceuticals and communications technology, he said. He said that in 2000, exports were US$3.4 million. These had increased to US$18 million by 2001, and he estimates this year the total will climb to US$50 million. |
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DR ranks midway on corruption index list The Dominican Republic is ranked 59th among 102 countries, according to the 2002 Corruption Perceptions Index released yesterday by Transparency International. Among Latin American countries, the Dominican Republic is ranked as less corrupt than El Salvador, Panama, Argentina, Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, Haiti and Paraguay in Latin America. Upon launching the report, Peter Eigen, chairman of the organization said: "Political elites and their cronies continue to take kickbacks at every opportunity. Hand in glove with corrupt business people, they are trapping whole nations in poverty and hampering sustainable development. Corruption is perceived to be dangerously high in poor parts of the world, but also in many countries whose firms invest in developing nations." The CPI is regarded as a poll of polls, reflecting the perceptions of business people and country analysts, both resident and non-resident. First launched in 1995, this year's CPI draws on 15 surveys from nine independent institutions. For more information and country-by-country rating, see http://www.transparency.org/ |
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Diplomat arrested for drug trafficking The National Department of Drug Control (DNCD) announced that Dominican vice consul in Port au Prince, Ornis Freddy Peña Mendez was arrested for drug trafficking. The 52-year-old Peña Mendez was arrested with 43 kilos of cocaine that were found in his Mitsubishi Montero (with Haiti diplomatic license plate) in the Cristo Rey slum north of the National District. DNCD officers also confiscated several guns, including an Uzi machine gun, cell phones and 17 Dominican and Haitian passports. He was arrested with his driver Pilinio Perez and Wilvio Medina Cuevas (Silverio), a Cristo Rey resident to whom the 46 packages of cocaine were to have been delivered to. Medina had been deemed a fugitive recently and was taken into custody also for his ties to a network that used the Caribe Tours bus line to transport drugs to the Dominican Republic. The DNCD said it had been on the trail of Peña for several months. Reportedly, Peña entered through the Jimani check point. Diario Libre reports that Peña was appointed to the job at the start of the Mejia government in August 2000. The newspaper says Senator Dagoberto Rodriguez recommended him. Peña is the second consular officer arrested by Dominican authorities. Just recently, Cap Haitien consul Radhames Garcia was arrested for smuggling Chinese citizens to the Dominican Republic. |
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Villa Cartagena accused of two kidnappings The Police formally accused Rafael Villa Cartagena of being the mastermind behind two kidnappings of businessmen – those of Juan Jimenez Ulerio in San Francisco de Macoris in 2000 and that of Juan Fernando Capellan in Santiago this year. Both were released after their families paid a ransom. Yesterday, the Police and the Attorney General office presented disguises and other articles supposedly used in both crimes. Villa Cartagena is a fugitive of the police. The Police also accused five of his relatives in the kidnapping of Juan Fernando Capellan, including Jose Antonio Cartagena Rodriguez, who recently turned himself in to the Police maintaining his innocence. The Police say it has evidence that both Jimenez and Capellan were held in the same Catalina, Peravia home property of Villa Cartagena. Diario Libre, nevertheless, speculates that the Police haven’t come up with a convincing reason for the kidnappings. While the Police feel that Villa Cartagena had money problems, Diario Libre speculates that their own research has showed he enjoyed a comfortable economic position, did not have known enemies, and it’s unlikely he wanted the money to help guerilla movements. |
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The XVI Hotel & Restaurant Trade Show The 16th National Hotel & Restaurant Trade Show opened yesterday at the Dominican Fiesta Hotel. This year’s event is honoring the late Don Annibale Bonarelli, founder of the Restaurant Vesuvio. The 27-30 August trade show, encompassing some 100 exhibitors, is open to the general public on Thursday and Friday from 3 to 10 pm and on Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. Talks are also scheduled and are also open to the general public, including: Thursday, 28 August. 6 pm. Vision of the Tourism Sector, Victor Cabral, executive vice president Cap Cana. Friday, 29 August. 9:30 am. Creating a Culture of Customer Service, Mirka Morales of the Listin Diario. 10:30 am. Typical Gourmet Cuisine, Peter Wuest of Amhsa. 6 pm. How to Reach Your Targeted Market with Your Web Page by Eliza Alys Young of Wolf Imaging. Saturday, 30 August. 10 am. 10 Steps to Become a Professional in the Service Industry, Arturo Arce of the Caribbean Hotel Association. |
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Punta Cana travel up Frank Rainieri, president of the Punta Cana Group said yesterday that travel to Punta Cana is up 22% for the first 26 days of August compared to travel for the same period in 2001. Overall, this year’s statistics show that travel in the first half of the year is down 13.6% compared to last year. But Rainieri says that the Dominican Republic is hurting less from the recession in the US than other Caribbean destinations. He explained that people continue to travel in a recession, but look for lower cost options. The Dominican Republic has thus benefited from the shopping around of US travelers. “In this case, the Dominican Republic has benefited from being the economy product in the Caribbean,” he said. Rainieri also told the press that travel from France is up 104% to Punta Cana this year. |
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Vanity Fair feeds controvery on AA587 Diario Libre says that a recent Vanity Fair magazine article (September issue) that looks into the reasons for the fatal plane crash in Queens, New York is raising new questions about the investigation into the crash. Nine months into the crash a probable cause of the accident has not been clarified. Now journalist David Rose has compiled official data and independent analysis as well as dozens of interviews that are casting doubts on the pilot error explanation given by the National Transportation Safety Board. Instead, the author points to failures in the airplane. See http://www.usread.com |
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