|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Central Electoral Board Monsignor Agripino Nuñez Collado, in a very brief statement, said that the major political parties had reached an agreement on the crisis that has stalled the legislative processes of the country for the past month. Hoy newspaper says the agreement was made during a meeting at the National Palace with President Hipolito Mejia. There will be a formal announcement on Thursday, after a panel of prominent jurists put the finishing touches on the changes to the electoral laws needed to make the accords work. According to sources, the parties agreed on the following points: The number of judges will be increased from seven to eleven. The Board will be divided into two chambers: one to handle electoral disputes and the other for purely administrative matters. The opposition members of Congress agreed to return to their seats after the formal announcement is made. |
|
President Mejia to travel to Japan President Hipolito Mejia is scheduled to travel to Japan on 26 November for a six-day visit, returning to the DR on 1 December. Minister of Foreign Relations Hugo Tolentino Dipp made the announcement yesterday during ceremonies to acknowledge a US$4.5-million donation on behalf of the government of Japan. The funds are designated for the second phase of a project to rehabilitate potable water sewage treatment plants in Constanza and Maimon. In Tokyo, President Mejia will be the guest of honor at a luncheon hosted by Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace and will also meet with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Also on the agenda is a conference with Japanese businessmen interested in investing in tourism. Earlier this month, President Mejia is scheduled to be in Canada this Tuesday, 5 November for talks with Prime Minister Jean Chretien during his two-day stay. |
|
President admits financial crisis After inaugurating the IV Ibero-American Conference on Children and Adolescents, President Hipolito Mejia admitted to reporters that there is a financial crisis in the Dominican Republic. He tempered his statement by adding that the nation was "better off than 90% of the countries in the world." He attributes the situation to external, as well as internal, factors and said he is optimistic about the future. While conversing with reporters about the proposed new bond issue, Mejia said that his government was talking with "leaders and representatives of the different economic sectors that have to understand this situation (the bond issue) completely." He added that a national campaign to inform the general public on the bond issue would be a waste of time and money since, as he put it, "95% don't understand these things." Finally, although Mejia said he wanted to do more for the young people, he said one of his government's achievements is having raised the daily number of public school children benefiting from daily breakfasts to 1.5 million. |
|
The exchange rate The lead story in the Economic section of HOY newspaper focuses on the behavior of the exchange rate. The "gentleman's agreement" to limit the rate to RD$20.30 pesos to the US dollar for a period of one month seems to be holding. However, there are many "ifs" surrounding this accord. Some economists feel that the agreement flies in the face of the basic laws of supply and demand and will only be maintained while the Central Bank is applying pressure. Others, such as Freddy Ortiz, who is the originator of the pact, say that this freeze is necessary in order to give the Central Bank time to collect sufficient dollars to shore up its reserves of hard currency. Ortiz warns, however, that the Achilles heel of the agreement is in the supply of dollars, which is beyond the control of the exchange system. At the present time the sale of dollars is down but the demand for the hard currency is rising. He mentioned that yesterday just one of the power distributors requested an exchange of RD$250,000,000. Critics of this strategy cite that restrictions on the exchange markets in the past have only served to develop the black market. |
|
Changing profile of the National Debt An issuance of new sovereign bonds would significantly change the profile of the foreign debt of the Dominican Republic by making it more commercial and less governmental. Up until now, 72% of the foreign debt was held in the form of bilateral loans from other countries or multilateral loans from international institutions such as the World Bank or the Interamerican Development Bank. With the new bonds to be issued, bilateral loans will decrease by 8%, multilateral loans will decrease by 2% and private sector loans will see an increase of 10%. Commercial banks are in favor of the new bonds. Diario Libre quotes Manuel A. Grullon, the president of the Banco Popular, who is speaking up strongly in favor of the move that would restructure the foreign debt and enable the government to fulfill its obligations to the local commercial banks. Grullon nevertheless mentioned that the placement should come accompanied with government commitment to fiscal discipline. |
|
Government spending: the root of the problem Former director of the National Planning Office Rafael Camilo said that the government needs to adjust its spending in proportion to its revenues in order to stop the devaluation of the peso and the increase in inflation. As reported in Hoy, he said that, so far, the government has instead opted to issue sovereign bonds and borrow domestically and internationally to pay for its overspending. He mentioned that the government has borrowed RD$14-billion from local banks, in addition to various other amounts from foreign commercial banks and the US$500-million sovereign bond placement. "The government has been spending much more than its revenues and that has led the economy to grow 6% in the first half, but that also means that there the demand for dollars grew at a time when these were not entering the economy, which resulted in the devaluation of the peso we are seeing today," he explained. He urged that the government, instead of issuing new bonds, adjust its spending to its revenues. So far this year, government revenues have been up by 11%, but government spending has also increased - by a margin of 26%. Camilo said a first-half of the year report from the Central Bank shows that tourism revenues were down 8.5%, free zone revenues dropped 5.3%, and the balance of payments showed a deficit of US$285-million. The 6% growth in the economy was merely a factor produced by the current government expenditures of RD$37-billion – gure way above the revenues generated of RD$32.6-billion. He said the overspending has heated up the economy, in response to the demand for more dollars for imports. |
|
Church spokesman advocates more production The president of the Conference of the Dominican Episcopate, Monsignor Ramon de la Rosa y Carpio, warned that the Dominican Republic could be headed down the same road as Argentina. He urged that the country curtail its dependence on foreign money. He believes that while the loans solve economic problems momentarily, the government should instead be focusing on stimulating domestic production, so as to guarantee the needed resources for development. "The peoples of Latin America are trying to resolve their economic problems with money from abroad, investments, loans, travel receipts, free zones and remittances," said Monsignor de la Rosa y Carpio. He says that healthy growth takes place when goods are produced. |
|
Highway patrol On their first day on the job the new highway patrol handed out 146 citations for speeding, driving without taillights, driving recklessly and other violations of Law 241. The 20 new units, each equipped with radar and manned by a three-member crew of both men and women, are patrolling the main highways of the Dominican Republic. |
|
IAPA opposes college degree requirement The Interamerican Press Association opposes a bill that would require journalists to have a college degree. The opposition of the leading Latin American press organization comes after Ruddy Gonzalez, editor of the El Expreso newspaper, reported that an amendment to Law 6132 had been introduced to Congress. The IAPA opposes any governmental measure that would control the flow of news and opinions. |
|
Major closing of apparel plant Bratex, a lingerie-manufacturing plant located in the Villa Mella free zone park north of Santo Domingo, has fired over 3,000 employees. Some sources say the company's ownership has changed hands. The Ministry of Labor confirmed that the company would be making severance payments to its former laborers, while El Caribe reported that of 11 manufacturing plants located in the park, only two were still in operation. Mayra Jimenez, of the Futrazona labor union, said that Bratex is just another of several collective firings that have taken place since late last year. Other companies that have dismissed thousands include Leibrant Investment, Melany Business, Makress, SDM, Dutjim and BR Limited. |
|
Flight AA587 hearings As we near the first anniversary of the tragedy of American Airlines Flight 587, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened the first public hearings into the cause of the accident. There was surprise, shock and disbelief among the many Dominican families that had been bused down to Washington, D. C. to listen in on the hearings. The debates centered around the technical aspects of the accident, with two main theories being offered. One was that there was a catastrophic structural failure of the rudder assembly of the Airbus-300 and the other being that either poor construction or poor maintenance of the 18-year old aircraft was at fault. The Dominicans in the audience appeared to be divided as to the merits of the hearings, some declaring that they did not feel anything would be learned at the NTSB hearings. The head of the Dominican American Roundtable stated that, "the families might find some answers to their tragedy." Carol Carmody, the acting head of the NSTB, said that it is possible that these hearing will raise more questions than answers. |
|
Berklee College of Music scholarship Berklee College in Boston announced last week the Michel Camilo scholarship award of US$10,000 for a first-year instrumental student, with particular consideration given to pianists. Michel Camilo is the contemporary Dominican pianist and composer to have achieved the highest international recognition. Berklee College of Music is the world's largest independent music college and the premier institution for the study of contemporary music. The college celebrated its 50th anniversary throughout the 1995 - 96 academic year and presently has an enrollment of 3,400 students, with over 30% representing more than 70 different countries. Students from the Dominican Republic will be given priority. If there are no eligible Dominican students, those from Puerto Rico and Cuba will be considered next. Tapes and applications must be submitted to Damien Bracken, Director of Scholarships and Student Employment, Berklee College of Music. Winners will be chosen in accordance with college selection policies. Berklee's inception in 1945 was based on the need for education on America's popular music, beginning with jazz. To this day, Berklee employs a rigorous and pragmatic educational approach to teach jazz, pop, rock, and other forms of world music, including classical. Berklee is not just a jazz school, or just a rock/pop school, but a college that offers all styles of contemporary music for today's music industry. For more information on the scholarship, contact Sarah Godcher Murphy, sgodcher@berklee.edu |
|
Dance at the National Theater US choreographer resident in Belgium, Ted Stoffer, acknowledged to be one of Europe's most visionary and brilliant choregraphers, and Dominicans Mercedes Morales and Victor Ramirez of the Ballet Roto dance company will present a remarkable evening of contemporary dance at the National Theater this weekend. Titled "Rodeados" (Surrounded), the evening promises dance, drama, poetry and an array of multimedia techniques. Three shows: Friday, Saturday, 2 November and Sunday, 3 November for the general public (admission is RD$400-RD$150). The Saturday, 2 November final rehearsal, set for 11:30 am is open to students for a RD$100 admission fee. |
|
Pan American Judo Championships Most of the best judo competitors of the Americas will be in Santo Domingo next week for the leading regional competitions. Organized by the Dominican Federation of Judo as a warm-up event in preparation for the 2003 Pan-American Games, the competitions are scheduled for 4-11 November. The scheduled championship events are: XXV Pan-American Seniors Judo Championships Male, XIV Pan-American Seniors Judo Championships Female, the II Pan-American Seniors Judo Championships by Team, the II Pan-American Seniors Judo Kata and the Ippon Trophy. For more information, see http://www.ijf.org/whatnew/latenews/wn-bb-800.htm |
|
Dominicans to El Salvador Games The Dominican delegation to the XIX Central American Games of El Salvador will be a 675-person strong contingent and will include 483 athletes and 192 officers. The games will open in San Salvador on 23 November, where an estimated 4,843 athletes have registered for the event. Leonardo Monsanto, chief of the mission, said that the Dominican team would be the largest ever to attend the Central American Games. He explained that only 562 individuals would travel to El Salvador (392 athletes and 170 officers), as others will travel to Puerto Rico for the hockey competitions and to Mexico for the sailing events. The skeet, handball and racquetball events will be held in Santo Domingo. The average age of the Dominican athletes is 22 years and 73% are male. Upon making the announcement about the team to the press, Antonio Acosta, speaking for the Dominican Olympic Committee, said that the El Salvador Games will be a preview of the Dominican athletic performances the public can expect to see in the 2003 Santo Domingo summer Pan American Games. |
|
|
|
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 1996-2008. DR1. All Rights Reserved. |
