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Government revenues During the first eight months of this year, tax collections have been flowing in at such a pace that as of August they accounted for 80% of the estimate for the entire year, as reported in the Listin Diario today. The Listin Diario says that the National Budget report indicates that tax revenues were RD$49.6 billion, while the expected total for the year was RD$61.9 billion. Despite the high level of revenues, the Mejia government has presented a bill to Congress urging the need to increase its gains. The Listin Diario explains that the National Budget Office report shows that the government used 62.2% of the resources, or RD$30.8 billion, to cover current spending. Wages to government employees make up 42% of this total. The difference is allocated to capital works. |
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President Mejia to travel to Canada The director of the Dominican Export Promotion Office and Foreign Investment Office, Danilo del Rosario says President Hipolito Mejia will be in Canada on 18 October for the formal opening of the free trade agreement talks with the Canadian government, as reported in El Dia newspaper. Del Rosario says that the bilateral trade agreement with Canada is the sole topic on the agenda of the President while there. He is traveling on an invitation from Prime Minister Jean Chretien. The visit coincides with the Dominican-American Chamber of Commerce mission to Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. For more information on this mission, see http://www.dr1.com/canadian |
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Ambassador says FTA talks are advanced Canadian ambassador Adam Blackwell told El Caribe in an interview yesterday that the government of Canada will formally present to the country its intention to open talks on a bilateral free trade agreement next week. He said that proceedings are advancing and on 12 October the Canadian government will present to the Canadian public the results of a feasibility study with the data of a survey of the Canadian business sector. Canadian companies were surveyed regarding the free trade agreement with the Dominican Republic. He said the Canadians have used the free trade agreement signed with Costa Rica as a model (see http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca) but that there could be changes to accommodate the Dominican Republic. The opening of the first talks regarding the signing of a free trade agreement with Canada came after President Hipolito Mejia met the Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien during a United Nations conference on financing for development held in Monterrey, Mexico in March of this year. “The Dominican Republic is not part of Caricom, is not part of Central America and seeks a free trade agreement with the United States and in Monterrey, President Mejia asked our Prime Minister about the possibility of a free trade agreement with Canada,” Blackwell explained when interviewed by the executive editor of El Caribe, Bernardo Vega, a former Dominican ambassador in Washington,D.C. Blackwell said that the answer was not an immediate yes, but that a subsequent analysis of trade opportunities for both countries showed that the dissimilar economies complement themselves well. He said a mission of Canadian trade specialists visited this August for the initial discussions. Consequently, under the framework of the 11th Meeting of the FTAA Trade Negotiations Committee held in late August in Santo Domingo, Leonard J. Edwards, Canadian Deputy Minister of International Trade, met with President Mejia regarding the preliminary conversations that had taken place. Recalling the long, drawn-out two years of negotiations with Mexico, he said that in the case of the Dominican Republic steps are being taken to accelerate the negotiations. Blackwell is hopeful that the treaty can be signed in eight months to a year’s time. Ambassador Blackwell said that a second meeting of Dominican and Canadian trade specialists will take place during the FTAA work sessions scheduled for Quito, Ecuador later this month. Blackwell said that Dominican-Canadian trade fluctuates between US$500 million to US$1 billion per year. He said that keeping track of the volume of trade is difficult because a great part of this is transhipped via the United States. He also said that Canada exports wheat, beans, dairy products and processed food products to the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Report exports tourism, coffee, bananas, sugar, mangos, rum, tobacco, and apparel (manufactured in industrial free zones) to Canada. Canadian companies have made major investments in mining, telecommunications and tourism. The most recent report on foreign investment growth in the Dominican Republic, issued by the Foreign Investment Promotion Office, ranks Canada first, with 36% of the total US$7 billion recorded as foreign investment and reinvestment for the period beginning in 1990 and ending with the first half of 2002. Ambassador Blackwell estimates that 20,000 Canadians live here and a similar number of Dominicans live in Canada. He forecast that 300,000 Canadian tourists will visit this year. |
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Exceptions made to car import law The director of the Department of Customs, Vicente Sanchez Baret, admitted that his government is making exceptions to the law that bans the import of used cars that are more than five years old. Sanchez justified his department’s flexibility with the law by saying that Dominicans that have for years contributed to the economy by sending their remittances deserve the break. |
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Traffic fines Diario Libre statistics show that between 30 September and 6 October, AMET agents wrote up 3,607 fines for traffic violations, or an average of 515 per day. This is up from 1,557 fines the previous week. Of these, 372 were for not using a seat belt, 316 for talking on a mobile phone while driving, 271 for crossing on a red light, 197 for not having the “revista” or car revision sticker up to date, and another 134 for parking in prohibited areas. AMET agents are retaining drivers’ licenses, alleging this is the only way to force the delinquent drivers to pay the fines in traffic court. |
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Petrol product prices hikes Diario Libre newspaper reports on the hefty hikes in the prices of petrol products in the Dominican Republic over the past two months. Price increases in the past two months have been: Propane gas 100 lb. Up from RD$354.60 on 3 August to RD$408.83, a 15% increase. Regular gasoline is up from RD$35.66 to RD$38.45, or an 8% increase. Regular diesel is up from RD$21.64 to RD$24.08, or an 11% increase. The increases reflect the higher cost of petroleum abroad. |
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Building in a national park area El Dia newspaper reports that Bienes Nacionales, the government department in charge of state property, is building a commercial center on the Malecon national park grounds, in an area were construction is supposedly off limits. Bienvenido Brito, director of Bienes Nacionales, justified the construction on the grounds that the Urban Planning Department of the City Government of Santo Domingo (during the days of Mayor Johnny Ventura) authorized the construction on the side of the Malecon that borders the sea. The newspaper says that taxpayers’ money is being used to build the locale where the Dominican restaurant, Adrian Tropical Food, will be located. |
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A Dominican hero, Claus von Amsberg El Caribe dedicates an editorial today to the passing of Claus von Amsberg, husband to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Claus von Amsberg is part of Dominican history. Before becoming Prince of the Netherlands upon his marriage, von Amsberg studied law and political science at the University of Hamburg and then joined the German Foreign Service. As such, he worked at the German Embassy in Santo Domingo from 1958 to 1961 as first-class secretary. During his time in Santo Domingo he met several opponents of the Trujillo dictatorship (Movimiento 14 de Junio), who would subsequently be jailed in January 1960. On their behalf, he traveled weekly to Puerto Rico, carrying important documents in order to inform the foreign press of the atrocities of the Trujillo regime. Among these was the renowned Pastoral Letter, in which the Catholic Church also denounced the Trujillo regime. El Caribe mentions that his work was very important and very discreet, and that he never sought recognition for the role he played. http://www.geocities.com/marliesq/ |
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Police colonel case to criminal court A court determined that the case against suspended Police Colonel Francisco Beras Santos, who is charged with the torture and sexual violation of a woman, will be heard in criminal court. Although not the norm, Police Chief Jaime Marte Martinez had sent the evidence against the colonel to be presented in a civilian, not military, trial. Beras has appealed his case in three courts, but each has rendered the decision that there is sufficient evidence to incriminate him. He awaits the conclusion of the trial at Najayo Jail and faces a possible sentence of 30 years in jail. The colonel is accused of having forced 34-year old Elizabeth Martinez Perez, a mother of four, to have oral sex with him before he would allow her to go free. She had been brought to the police station for questioning in regards to a case involving a death near her home that she had witnessed. Martinez says she publicly denounced the colonel to serve as an example for other women who may face a similar situation. |
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Family feud News reports focus on the family feud behind the murder of 12-year old Jose Llenas Aybar by his cousin, Mario Redondo Llenas. The mother of the victim, Ileana Llenas, says that her nephew had intended to murder her once the ransom for the boy was paid. Ileana Llenas did not think her son had been raped, but that if indeed true, it was then 18-year old Mario Redondo who had raped him. She said the crime could have been committed because of family resentments. In court yesterday, Mario Raul Redondo Carbonell defended his son, Mario Redondo Llenas, saying that the youth had always been rational and articulate. After the murder of his cousin took place, however, he admitted that he could not explain his son’s bizarre conduct. He said his son’s explanation was that he had gone insane. The father did admit that his son once took his gun and fired several shots at a traffic light. His aunt, Ileana Llenas attributes much of what happened to the bad upbringing of Mario Redondo Llenas. Meanwhile, Guarocuya Moline, the father of the co-accused Juan Manuel Moline Rodriguez, declared in court that he never liked the friendship between his son and Redondo Llenas because Mario was arrogant and overly ambitious. He said that after the discovery of the two boys’ involvement in the murder and his son’s arrest, Mario asked for Mr. Moline’s forgiveness for involving his son in the problem. 12-year old Jose Rafael Llenas Aybar was murdered on 3 May, 1996 in a case that shook the nation as it involved the upper classes and reflected upon how this segment of the population was bringing up their children. |
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The year of the underdog Call it the year of the underdog, the year of the Cinderellas or the end of the dynasties. The 2002 playoffs of Major League Baseball has been a surprise to all. Sports writers say it is the first time that all four top seeds (Braves, Yankees, A’s and Diamondbacks) have been sent home after the first round. The Minnesota Twins and the San Francisco Giants in the American League, and the St. Louis Cardinals and the Anaheim Angels are the least likely playoff teams. Sorry, the spotlight will not be on Miguel Tejada or Alfonso Soriano. Instead, Dominicans will get to watch Ramon Ortiz playing for the Anaheim Angels, and David Ortiz and Cristian Guzman for the Minnesota Twins. |
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