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Iberoamerican Summit opens today The XIIth Iberoamerican Summit of Heads of State and Government opens today at 6:30 pm at the Barcelo Bavaro Convention Center. This is the first time that the meeting of the chiefs of state and government from countries colonized by the Portuguese or Spanish is held at a beach resort. The King of Spain Juan Carlos, who created the event in 1991 as a forum for Latin America, Spain and Portugal, will preside over the opening ceremonies today. Host President Hipolito Mejia has been in Bavaro since yesterday to receive the visiting heads of state. 23 heads of state and government are expected. Special guests are Governor of Puerto Rico, Sila Calderon, Prime Minister of Jamaica Percival Patterson and Prime Minister of Belize Said Musa. For the event, the Barcelo Bavaro Palace prepared 23 deluxe suites complete with special telecommunications systems. Leading up to the event, several ministerial summits have been held in the Dominican Republic. |
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Spotlight on the guayabera The visiting heads of state coming for the XII Iberoamerican Summit of Heads of State and Government will each receive a light blue linen chacabana, or guayabera as it is known in Cuba. The long-sleeved chacabana fills the needs of tropical heat dressing with the elegance of a jacket and the comfort of a shirt. Known for its wearability, the shirt is used as a substitute to the formal suit and will be worn by the visiting statesmen when the official photograph is taken with the backdrop of Bavaro-Punta Cana beach. The Presidents will also receive a white linen chacabana for use during the event. Listin Diario, in its special report on the summit chacabanas, says the shirts have a cost of RD$3,500. The chacabana is considered an authentic symbol of Latin culture. Distinctive for its two vertical pleats, four spacious pockets and embroidery details, this tropical shirt is many times described as a cultural icon of Latin masculine elegance, the all-purpose shirt to menswear. President Hipolito Mejia commissioned his personal Dominican designer Hipolito Peña to custom-make the shirts for the visiting statesmen. The chacabana to be used for the official photo will be sky blue-colored 28 count Irish linen with a bright green parrot embroidered on the right top pocket. The Listin Diario reports that the President ordered three shirts for the King of Spain Juan Carlos as he will stay on in the country after the Summit ends on Saturday, 16 November. Diario Libre reports that the visiting statesmen and delegations will also receive Oscar de la Renta chacabanas as gifts, in addition to a leather briefcase, mahogany rocking chairs with the coat of arms of the Dominican Republic, and Arturo Fuentes Opus X cigars. The First Ladies will receive an autographed collection of silkscreen printed of works by Candido Bido, Marianela Jimenez, Guillo Perez, Soucy Pellerano, Silvano Lora and Nidia Serra. |
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US$600 million in sovereign bonds President Hipolito Mejia sent to the Senate the proposed US$600 sovereign bond placement yesterday. This would be the second bond placement since the first in October 2001. Minister of Finance Jose Lois Malkum said that the bonds would be used to pay domestic and foreign governmental debt and create a contingency fund at the Central Bank. Of the total, US$315 million would be used to pay foreign governmental debt, US$135 million to pay debt in dollars with domestic banks and US$150 million for the international reserves at the Central Bank. Responding to criticism regarding loose fiscal discipline, Malkum said that the fact that 50% of public works are paralyzed shows there is indeed fiscal discipline. He also mentioned that the economy had slowed from a 7% growth in the first half of the year to 1.5% in the third quarter. Malkum recently said that there are 125,000 more jobs in government than needed. Economists that oppose the placement of the bonds say that if the government would eliminate those jobs and other unnecessary expenditures the placement of the sovereign bonds would not be necessary. |
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Pepegate: Four Cartier watches Diario Libre reports that Colonel Pedro Julio (Pepe) Goico, the suspended security chief of President Hipolito Mejia had recently used his credit card to purchase four Cartier watches at the Las Americas International Airport Bolero duty free shop. The watches have a US$4,000 price tag. Employees told the newspaper that they were paid by credit card. The employees, though, said that the purchase was made on a day when Goico would not be taking a plane, thus the purchase was in violation of the duty free shop rules. The employees said that Goico would show up frequently to shop, putting the employees in a difficult situation. Diario Libre says that Goico also resisted routine security checks to his person and hand luggage and that of those accompanying him and confronted American Airlines employees on several occasions. The Pepegate scandal increases the evidence towards the lack of adequate controls for governmental spending. Goico’s credit card had been issued primarily to cover presidential trip expenditures. |
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Power distributors not selling President of the Senate, Andres Bautista Garcia said that a group of senators will propose increasing the sovereign bond placement by US$200 million to use the money to purchase the shares of the power distributors. Senator Cesar Diaz (PRD-Azua) said that the proposal to purchase the shares of the power distributors seeks to improve the service and avoid the cruelty these companies are inflicting on consumers, as reported in Hoy newspaper. But El Caribe newspaper says that when Diaz made the statement, he was in the presence of key officers of the two power distributors – AES and Union Fenosa. Guillermo Ibañez, acting president of AES EdeEste commented that perhaps Diaz was joking. Mario Lopez, general manager of Union Fenosa’s Edenorte and Edesur, thought it was funny, too. He said that Union Fenosa does not have plans to sell its shares. |
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Puerto Plata Festival The Ministry of Tourism announced the celebration of the Dominican cocktail contest and the Dominican Cuisine Contest as part of the Puerto Plata Festival activities at the end of the month. The Association of Hotels of Puerto Plata is assisting in the organization of the event. The Cocktails Contest will take place at the Hotel Playa Naco in Playa Dorada on Friday, 29 November. The Dominican Cuisine Contest will take place at the Hotel Puerto Plata Village in Playa Dorada, on 30 November. |
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LA’s eighth most competitive nation The World Economic Forum ranks the Dominican Republic as the eighth most competitive Latin American country. The Report, which examines the growth prospects of 80 countries, remains the most up-to-date and comprehensive data source available on comparative strengths and weaknesses of the leading economies of the world. Only Chile, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil and Panama ranked higher than the Dominican Republic, as reported in El Caribe. The Dominican Republic, though, experienced a two point drop in the competitiveness ranking from 2001 to 2002. To view the rankings and the report, see http://www.weforum.org/ |
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Customs collections up Diario Libre reports that the Customs Department has collected taxes for RD$14.6 billion during the first 10 months of the year. This is RD$1 billion more than what the government had budgeted. A new record for customs tax collections was set in October, with RD$1.49 billion in collections, up RD$351 million more than collected in September. Customs collections are calculated on an exchange rate of RD$19.85 to US$1, while the Central Bank official rate is at RD$17.76. The increase in the exchange rate used by the Customs Department has contributed significantly to the increase in collections. |
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Big fines for littering The City Hall of Santo Domingo approved an increase in the fines for littering. These will go up from RD$500-RD$1,000 RD$5,000 to RD$500,000. The City ruled to give Mayor Roberto Salcedo legal rights to take to justice citizens caught littering. The fine money would be used to fund a citizen education campaign focusing on keeping the city clean. Dominicans are known for their personal cleanliness and for keeping their homes very clean. But for some unexplained reason, Dominicans in general do not think twice about littering on streets. Mayor Salcedo said they would be drastic in their application of the law to avoid the capital becoming one single garbage dump. |
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Tax holiday: December through February Traditionally, since the start of December and all through the holidays until early January, the Dominican government has authorized tax exemptions for gifts brought in by visiting friends and relatives. This year, Customs Director Vicente Sanchez Baret says that the tax holiday will be extended through February. Law 9-96 stipulates that gifts must not cost more than US$1,000 to meet the tax exemption criteria. |
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Nun dies in motorcycle assault A 60-year old Brazilian nun Hedwiges Rossi died as a result of the fall she suffered after two assailants traveling on a motorcycle grabbed her handback. As a result of the attack, the nun spent 13 days in coma at the Plaza de la Salud medical center. The nun was assaulted when walking on Romulo Betancourt Avenue near Winston Churchill. She was a member of the Hermanas Catequistas Franciscanas and had served in Elias Piña border province for the past five years. She had traveled to Santo Domingo to vote at the Brazilian Embassy in the presidential election. |
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Bernardo Vega is 65, not 75 DR1 erroneously added 10 years to Bernardo Vega’s age in the brief on his leaving the executive editor position at El Caribe published on Wednesday, 12 November. While he has the wisdom and experience of a 75-year old man, given his versatile career as an economist, archeologist, social researcher and historian, Vega is only 65. He was born in Santiago de los Caballeros on 23 February 1938. A former governor of the Central Bank and Dominican ambassador in Washington, D.C. turned journalist, Vega will continue contributing opinion pieces to the newspaper. To contact him, write to bvega@elcaribe.com.do |
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First money in for JPD Olympic Center With only eight months to go before the start of the Santo Domingo Pan American Games, the Banco de Desarrollo Economico y Social of Venezuela made a US$3.1 million first disbursement of a total US$15.8 million loan first much-awaited US$3.1 million loan for the reconstruction of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. The reconstruction had been estimated to take 15 months time. The money will be used to refurbish, rebuild or build the cycling velodrome, gymnastics and volleyball pavilions, boxing and weight lifting pavilions, baseball play, and the exterior areas of the JPD Olympic Center. Major reconstruction works are also in order for the Olympic Stadium. |
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Protection and hunting of animals President Hipolito Mejia issued Decree 801-02 that prohibits the capture, death, mutilation or caging of wild animals or any part of the national fauna, as well as their nests, eggs, or feathers. The decree also opens a hunting season this year and part of next. The decree, published in today’s newspapers, will permit the hunting of Northern Pintail Ducks, Green Winged Teals, Blue Winged Teals, the American Wigeon, the Northern Shoveler, the Lesser Scaup, and the Ring-necked Duck from 15 November 2002 until the 30 March 2003. Hunters are allowed 15 birds of each species per day, but can only hunt on weekends and holidays from 6 am until 6 pm. Other species, such as the Helmeted Guinea Fowl, can be hunted from the first of November of 2002 until March 30th, 2002, but there is a three-bird limit per day. The Mourning Dove can be hunted from 1 July 2003 until 1 November 2003 as can the White Winged Dove. There is a 50-bird limit on these two species. Decree 801 – 02 also states that the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources will conduct a study to measure the impact of hunting in the country. Finally, in certain areas of the country, specifically rice growing regions and citrus and cacao farms there is an open season on a series of birds, but with Special Permits. Four birds, the Madam Sagá, Pájaro Vaquero, the Pecho Jabao, and the Monjita Tricolor may be hunted in the rice-growing areas and the Woodpecker may be hunted in the cacao-growing areas. |
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