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Prime Minister Chrétien visits Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien arrived on Sunday 13 April for an 11-day stay, to include three days of official visits and several days off for a family Easter vacation. Chrétien with his wife Aline and will be joined by other family members for the holiday part of his stay. On the official agenda are meetings at the Presidential Palace, a ceremony at which Chrétien will receive an honoris causa doctorate from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, a gala dinner at the Presidential Palace, a breakfast conference sponsored by the Dominican-Canadian Chamber of Commerce at the Hotel Embajador and a visit to the Placer Dome gold mine facility in Cotuí. While in the DR, Chrétien is also scheduled to sign seven Canadian investment deals in mining, engineering and energy-efficiency projects, with a combined value of 619 million Canadian dollars, and will engage in talks on the proposed free-trade agreement with the DR. The Canadian leader is staying at the Hotel Embajador and will vacation at Casa de Campo in La Romana, where he may tee-off with former US President Bill Clinton, who is also spending the Easter holidays there. Chrétien’s trip has received front-page coverage in Canada, after coinciding with the announcement that US President George W. Bush had cancelled his first state visit to Ottawa next month, blaming the war in Iraq. http://www.globeandmail.com/BNStory/Front |
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Canada to fund AIDS and watershed projects Susan Whelan, Canadian minister for International Cooperation, today announced that Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), will contribute 17.8 million Canadian dollars to fund two initiatives that will provide significant assistance to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The announcement coincides with the visit of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to the Dominican Republic. The first initiative, to be implemented by the Caribbean Epidemiology Center (CAREC), a specialized health center of the Pan American Health Organization, will implement a program to reduce the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean. The project will operate with a budget of just under $8 million over a four-year period. The second initiative seeks to contribute to the rehabilitation of the Artibonito River Watershed along the border between Haiti and the DR. The Canadian government, through CIDA, will invest $10 million Canadian dollars over 10 years in the effort, with the first phase being the development of a bi-national Watershed Management Plan, and will involve a close collaboration with other donors. Funding for these initiatives was provided for in the February 2003 budget. For more information, see http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/cida_ind.nsf/ |
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Coming soon: Center for Export and Investment In an interview with El Caribe newspaper, Danilo Rosario, director of both the Center for the Promotion of Exports (Cedopex) and the Office for the Promotion of Investments (OPI), announced the formation of the Center for Export and Investment. The new government office would be the product of a merger between the two promotion centers. Del Rosario said that after taking charge of Cedopex, the institution’s operating budget was increased from RD$14 million to RD$50 million, not including the RD$15 million it generates in revenues. With OPI’s independent budget of RD$52 million, the new institution will find RD$117 million per year at is command for the promotion of exports and investments in the DR. Del Rosario also said that current spending only accounts for 48% of the budget and that the new CEI would fully support 22 commercial attachés in embassies abroad that would also work to increase exports and investment. The formal creation of the new office is pending the approval of legislation by Congress. As part of his initiatives, Del Rosario mentioned ongoing efforts to eliminate the 12% ITBIS, as well as the 1.5% surcharge on exports, considered major obstacle to exporters. Del Rosario says that the DR ranked fourth in Latin America in attracting foreign investment and first in Central American region last year. |
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Well done, Atallah? President Hipólito Mejía has promoted Superintendent of Banks Alberto Atallah to the position of Administrative Secretary of the Presidency. Atallah was removed from the Superintendence of Banks after that institution failed to exercise its supervisory role in ensuring that all banks adhere to the banking law, specifically in the case of Baninter. Despite weeks of flagging Article 80 of the Monetary Code that prohibits the gossip and rumors surrounding fragile bank operations to circulate, the Central Bank admitted last week that Baninter would have to be liquidated. Atallah is the son of Elias Atallah, who in 2000 transferred the similarly troubled Banco del Exterior to the Baninter group. The highly respected engineer Julio Cross, former Superintendent of Power, was named Superintendent of Banks. |
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More government shuffling President Hipólito Mejía appointed former president of the Governmental Commission of Power, George Reynoso, as his new Superintendent of Power, to replace engineer Julio Cross. During his tenure as superintendent, Cross had often confronted the power companies, obliging them to comply with the Electricity Law in areas unfavorable to the companies but beneficial to consumers, including the issue of refunds to consumers for blackouts and an announced rate reduction. Results of a tariffs study conducted by outside consultants indicate that Dominicans are paying more than they should be and Cross was suggesting that bills be reduced by 8-17% this year out of fairness to consumers. President Mejía sent his former Administrative Secretary of the Presidency, Siquió Ng de la Rosa, to preside over the controversial Plan Renove, which is overseeing the import of 4,243 vehicles purchased with government borrowing abroad in the form of taxis, SUVs, forklifts, trucks, buses and minibuses. One of the latest scandals regarding the Plan Renove was that a new company had been created, called the Centro de Administración de Valores, to increase the charges to vehicle beneficiaries, allegedly to fund the purchase of SUVs. El Caribe says that when appointed Administrative Secretary of the Presidency, Ng (formerly the successful mayor of San Francisco de Macorís) had specifically requested not to be assigned the responsibility for the controversial plan. |
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Pepe Goico bounces back Colonel Pedro Julio (Pepe) Goico, former security chief of President Hipólito Mejía, was appointed deputy commander of the Sixth Brigade of the Army, based in La Romana as reported in the Listín Diario. When originally appointed to the key security position in the Mejía administration, Goico was free on bail after being indicted for fraud in a RD$90-million scandal involving the National Lottery in 1997. The new appointment to the La Romana post establishes Goico as the second-in-command for the army in the southeast and follows his deliverance from criminal charges for personal use of a Baninter credit card supposedly for expenditures of President Mejía on his trips abroad. Baninter did not pursue Goico in a court of law to recover their losses, despite admitting that Goico had made illicit charges of RD$40 million on the credit card. The case received much press attention and spurred references such as “Pepecard - the card everyone wants to have” and “Pepegate”. There were also allegations of the questionable employ of airplanes and a helicopter professedly for the presidential advance team. The scandal affected the reputation of Baninter, as well as projecting an image of the Mejía administration as a government unwilling to fight corruption in office. The US Consulate released to the press an order canceling Goico’s entry visa and banning the military from visiting the US. El Caribe reports that Goico had been seen receiving Princess Elena, the daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, and participating in security maneuvers regarding former US President Bill Clinton. |
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Press gagged to cover bank scandals? Journalist Juan Bolivar Díaz writes in Hoy newspaper’s Sunday edition that these are tough times for responsible journalists. He mentions the case of Baninter as having an effect on the devaluation of the peso and highlights that already the government has had to come to the rescue of the institution with RD$10 billion (from September 2002 to March 2003), making the problem of interest to everyone. “The management of a bank, in this case one of the largest in the country, cannot be a private affair, because its efficiency or inefficiency is a determining factor for thousands of people, and because its downfall due to bad administration or irresponsible investments is costly to the entire financial system and nation.” Bolivar Díaz criticized the fact that the deficiencies were hidden by the authorities, who maintained strict rules regarding the spread of rumors. “But these were well substantiated rumors,” he says. Díaz says that the lessons to be learned should contribute to reducing the risks in the future and insists that the authorities be transparent in their explanations of what and why this happened. The journalist is especially critical of what he calls a lack of responsibility on behalf of the Superintendence of Banks and specifically the promotion of its Superintendent to the post of Administrative Secretary of the Presidency. “Obviously, we sustain an immense bureaucratic apparatus that does not serve the purpose of supervising the financial institutions and avoiding licentiousness,” he writes. In the case of Baninter, he says the excesses were obvious and for years observers questioned the apparent abundance. Those called to supervise and enforce regulations, however, seemed to look the other way and corrective actions were not taken in time. Díaz says that the case brings forth again a problem worse than political patronage – that which he calls profiteering from politics, and by which certain individuals invest large capital in the candidacies of politicians, and collect their compensation at a later date in a thousand different ways. Díaz also mentions the blank check Baninter extended to artistic and sports events and the fact that the bank was the country’s biggest private advertiser. |
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Bank borrowing criticized The Association of Industries of Haina urged the government not to use the loans recently passed by Congress, as they have hidden costs as they force companies to make purchases of inputs abroad. Rafaél Alvarez Crespo and Jorge Abbott, president and advisor to the Association, told Hoy newspaper that there needs to be more transparency behind these loans. The Senate approved the loans for US$238 million on 8 April for the construction of aqueducts nationwide. Abbott said that the contracts oblige the purchases of materials at scandalous prices, compared to what could be secured in the local market. He called for the holding of tenders to choose the suppliers. |
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DR brings boom activity to US ExImbank The Export-Import Bank increased its financing activity level by about 10% for Fiscal 2002. Total financing (loans, guarantees, and insurance) was up to $10.1 billion from $9.2 billion previously, with the number of transactions edging up to 2,516 from 2,358, according to the bank. The Dominican Republic was one of the very few countries that grew as an ExImbank market. The bank approved US$787 million in financing for the Dominican Republic last fiscal year, to boost its exposure to US$1 billion. The year saw US$689 million in guarantees and US$98 million in insurance business. The ExImbank seeks to aid financing and to facilitate US exports. ExImbank-backed loans require the borrower to purchase US goods and services. |
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Tax collections down Listín Diario reports that fiscal revenues for the first quarter of the year are down RD$1 billion. The decline is attributed to the 10% surcharge on most imports instated by the government precisely to reduce imports and control the run on the Dominican peso. The new car dealers association (ACOFAVE) says member sales are down 80% due to the high cost of borrowing, and the increase in the cost of vehicles due to the 10% import surcharge. Decline in revenue also came from a drop in petrol consumption due to the higher costs on the local market. |
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Félix Sánchez at the Pan Am Games Current 400-meter hurdles world champion, Félix Sánchez promised President Hipólito Mejía he would give his all to win a gold medal for the country in this event in the Santo Domingo Pan American Games. Sánchez visited Mejía at the Juan Dolio beach house and announced that he would not participate in the International Associations of Athletics Federations Golden League Jackpot events in 2004, and instead would focus on the Pan Am Games and the IAAF World Athletics Championships. The Dominican athlete clinched a share of the IAAF Golden League Jackpot (50 kilos of gold), along with fellow track luminaries Marion Jones, Hicham El Guerrouj and Ana Guevara, after winning seven straight qualifying races on the Golden League circuit Sánchez will compete in the 400-meter hurdles and in the 4 x 400 relay at the Pan Am Games, where he is also expected to be selected the country’s flag bearer. Sánchez was in the DR for the launch of the Codetel web page (www.felixsupersanchez.com) featuring the track star. Sánchez won the 2002 World Championships last August with a time of 47.35 and is ranked No. 1 in the world in his event. He says his next goal is to break the world record. |
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