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The lights come back on The Mejia government borrowed RD$1.2 billion (US$90 million) to pay arrears with the power companies. By the next day power service was restored. Diario Libre reports that the government borrowed the money from a pool of private banks, which provided US$68 million. The newspaper says that the government still needs to borrow another US$30 million to make a payment on the debt with Cogentrix. President Mejia is expected to announce the agreements reached with the power companies on Tuesday. Some 11 people have died recently in protests in ghetto areas after long hours of blackouts caused major irritations. Meanwhile, the National Business Council urged that the power companies only be allowed to charge for power rendered, referring to the practice of also billing for power outages. |
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10 peso coins to pay tolls RD$10 coins should soon be available. The establishment of RD$15 tolls up from RD$5 per crossing (payable in coins) has made the coins a pressing necessity. The Senate passed a first reading on the bill for the issuing of RD$10 coins. The Monetary Junta of the Central bank prepared the bill to facilitate the payment of tolls. After the government increased the tolls to RD$15 each way, RD$5 coins had begun to become scarce. The new bill now moves to a second reading and then on to the Chamber of Deputies. |
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PRSC presidential hopefuls Federico (Quique) Antun and Eduardo Estrella joined Jacinto Peynado and Alexis Joaquin Castillo, who have already registered to participate in the party’s primary. They aspire to run for President on the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano ticket in the 2004 presidential election. Former Vice President Carlos Morales Troncoso, announced he would not seek the candidacy, although past polls have shown him as the second highest ranked presidential candidacy hopeful, reported in Hoy newspaper. He said that the party needs to define its philosophical platform. |
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Mom and Pop shops forced to go legit The start of the social security system this year is forcing “mom and pop” shops to go legal. Diario Libre reports that 3,000 beauty salons operating informally have united as the Dominican Association of Beauty Parlor Owners to support their members’ efforts in going legal. Diario Libre explains that the beauty salons are staffed primarily by women earning RD$1,000 a month plus commissions. Article 36 of the new law makes affiliation obligatory for all, regardless of the person working independently, moving abroad or changing service provider. |
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Union problems behind Pan Am shut down? A news story in the Portsmouth Herald gives insight into why Pan Am has shut down its service to Punta Cana and Santiago airports in the Dominican Republic. The flights had only commenced in June of this year and were suspended on the 13th September. According to the report, Pan Am workers say the airline is cutting back as part of an effort by Pan Am’s management to break unions and move jobs to nonunion portions of parent company, Guilford Transportation. From the Pease International Airport in Portsmouth, the company has cut its routes back to include only Bangor, Maine; Baltimore; and Sanford, Fla., and through Sanford, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Affiliate Boston and Maine Airways offers service from Pease to Saint John, New Brunswick; Bedford, Mass.; Martha’s Vineyard; and White Plains, N.Y. "Portsmouth will still have six flights a week to Sanford," said Dan Fortnam, Pan Am’s vice president of sales and marketing, adding that of the destinations cut, he expects the Dominican Republic will be the first reopened, but not until after the end of the year. Fortnam said ticket sales to the Dominican Republic would probably resume before the start of 2003 and that’s when furloughed workers would be rehired. As a condition of Guilford Transportation’s buying Pan Am out of bankruptcy, the airline’s pilots were allowed to maintain their union affiliation, but some pilots believe the company is trying to create a nonunion employee corps. "I really truly think this all has to do with breaking the pilot’s union," Willis said. He said he believes Guilford wants to hire cheaper labor in the Caribbean when Pan Am launches its Caribbean affiliate. Pan Am officials, including Fortnam, said earlier this year that the purchase of 22 Boeing 727s were for Pan American World Airways, which is seeking a certificate in a Caribbean nation to operate passenger service between destinations in that region and the United States. http://www.portsmouthherald.com/news/09142002/news/24106.htm |
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New equipment to facilitate landing in Santiago Victor Suarez, general manager of the Santiago Cibao International Airport, says that the purchase of new equipment would reduce the number of flights that have had to be detoured due to negative weather conditions upon landing. He said that of 120 evening flights made in July and August, only three had to be suspended and alluded to plans to purchase the ILS (Instrument Landing System), which is a radio navigation aid used to allow aircraft to land accurately and safely in marginal weather. The equipment would enable a landing with zero visibility and would cost US$400,000, he explained. The plan is to install the ILS in January or February of next year. He denied evening operations would be suspended at the Santiago airport. |
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Dominican domestic bonds rating up Moody’s rated Dominican domestic bonds in RD$ currency that expire in 2005. The bonds are rated Ba2. Mauro Leos of Moody’s, clarifies that this is not an upgrade as these had not been rated previously. Deputy Minister of Finance Apolinar Veloz says that this is a result of the government having met its domestic obligations to bond holders under Dominican law 104-99. Commenting on the rating, Veloz said that a review enabled the government to eliminate RD$1.5 million in debt that was still on the books, despite having already been paid. The Moody’s ratings are intended to provide capital market participants with a framework for comparing the credit quality of debt securities. For more information, see http://www.moodys.com |
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Europe Day on 7 November Expo Europa 2002 has been cancelled due to lack of exhibitors, according to the Dominican-German Chamber of Commerce newsletter. Instead, the Federation of European Chamber of Commerce will organize a Europe Day on November 7. Meanwhile, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce (Camara Oficial Española de Comercio e Industria) announces that España Exporta 2002 will take place from October 9-12 at the Dominican Fiesta Hotel. |
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Drug liaison officer at US Embassy – correction R1 Daily News incorrectly reported that Richard Hawkins would be the new full-time US government drug enforcement agent in the Dominican Republic. It is clarified that Hawkins is the State Department Regional Representative for the Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS). NAS is not involved in law enforcement. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the U.S. Department of Justice, is the sole federal law enforcement agency concerning narcotics. Hawkins is expected to arrive this month and will be stationed at the US Embassy as part of joint efforts on behalf of the State Department and the Department of Justice, to combat the use of the Dominican Republic as a bridge for drug trafficking between South America and the United States. The Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) of the U.S. Embassy is responsible for the administration of programs and funds that come from the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of State. The NAS would work closely with U.S. law enforcement agencies to ensure that the Dominican Republic has the training and tools needed in the fight against narcotrafficking and transnational organized crime. The local Drug Control Department (DNCD) has confiscated 650 kilos of cocaine in the past 30 days. The DNCD just last week announced the arrest of a leading Puerto Rican celebrity who is said to be part of a group accused of moving at least 240 kilos of cocaine, according to Diario Libre. |
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DNA testing to Columbus remains Listin Diario carries a German press wire (DPA) report indicating that the remains of Christopher Columbus’ son Diego Colón would be tested in Sevilla for comparison with the remains of his father, which most historians agree are located in the Columbus Lighthouse mausoleum. Spanish professors Marcial Castro and Sergio Algarrada have spearheaded the effort to end the dispute regarding where the remains are located and to solve the mystery of the origin of Columbus. Was Columbus from Genoa in Italy or was he the bastard son of Margalida Colom and the Prince of Viana, born on the Spanish island of Mallorca, as some historians claim? Forensic doctor Jose Antonio Lorente, who heads a famous genetic identification laboratory at the University of Granada, will have the final word. |
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Festival President 2003 announced Rafael Menicucci, president of the Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana, brewers of Presidente beer, announced that the Fifth Festival Presidente de Musica Latina will take place in September, after the August Pan Am Games. The Latin American music festival that groups some of the most popular Hispanic stars of the moment normally takes place in July. In 2003, it will be postponed so as not to coincide with the Pan Am Games. |
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