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Politics is the priority Participants in the Summit of Leaders held at the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra chose to postpone the drawing up of a national development agenda and instead focused on politics, as reported in El Caribe. It was decided that the national development agenda would be presented in March so that the political parties participating in the 2004 presidential election could incorporate this into their government proposals to the nation. The newspaper explains that yesterday during the two-hour summit a commission was created to monitor the work of the Central Electoral Board to organize the May 2004 presidential election. Businessmen, civic society, politicians and government agreed to guarantee a transparent and credible election, without distortions nor irregularities of any kind. Monsignor Agripino Núñez Collado will preside the commission. Other members are Rafael Perelló (businessman), Marisol Vicens (president of the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs), Celso Marranzini (former president of the National Council of Business), Reynaldo Franco Aquino, Lisandro Macarrulla (president of the Association of Industries), José Joaquín Puello (former president of the XIV Pan Am Games Organizing Committee) and Radhamés Mejía (deputy rector at PUCMM). CDN news service reported that the president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE), Luis Arias warned that the new commission should not meddle in internal affairs of the body in charge of organizing the presidential election. Nevertheless, he said that the JCE welcomes all positive suggestions from outsiders. | |||
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Declaration of Commitments Following participating in the two-hour summit at the PUCMM, President Hipólito Mejía promised to uphold the Declaration of Commitments signed at the event. Besides President Mejía, others signing were: former President Leonel Fernandez for the PLD; Hatuey de Camps for the PRD; Eduardo Estrella, presdiential candidate for the PRSC; Elena Viyella for the National Council of Business (Conep), Rufino Linares for the National Council of Unions (Cenus). For the Roman Catholic Church, signing on as witnesses were Bishop Ramón de la Rosa, president of the Conference of the Dominican Episcopate, Monsignor Agripino Núñez Collado, rector of the PUCMM and Bishop Francisco José Arnáiz. The Declaration of Commitments was divided into statements on politics and institutionality, electoral, economic and social matters. The commitments are: Politics-Institutionality Strengthen democratic institutionality at all levels of state and consolidate the political parties. Keep spaces open for dialogue as the mechanism par excellence. Contribute to the strengthening of a state of law, respecting the autonomy of the Judicial Branch. Back the modernization of the Executive Branch, decentralization of the state and strengthening of local governments. Back the holding of a conference on the Dominican-Haitian problem. Electoral matters Continue to strengthen the credibility of the electoral system to guarantee a free, transparent, credible and participative election, without distortions nor irregularities of any kind, seeking to create spaces for surveilance and followup with national and international participation, before, during and after the election. Propitiate that the parties center their campaigns on legitimate objectives, presenting to the citizens proposals that provide answers to Dominican society’s problems. Appoint a follow up commission to work with the JCE. Economic matters Strengthen the regulation and banking supervision. Adopt instruments to detect risks against failures in the banking and financial systems. Adopt sustainable policy leading to the recovery of economic growth and macroeconomic stability. Arrange for tributary reform. Promote the exploration of hydrocarbons and the development of alternate forms of energy. Promote the competitiveness of the productive sectors. Foster the renegotiation of the foreign debt. Social matters Give priority to and improve the quality of social investment to raise the living standards of the lowest income sectors. Combat corruption. Design and implement policies to create stable and productive jobs to contribute to combat poverty. Improve the efficiency of social services offered by the state, especially those available to low income persons. Foster measures that increase the access to health services and pharmaceuticals at reasonable costs. | |||
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SUVs and advertising In days when the government is requesting that citizens buckle up, pay more taxes and submit to austerity, this does not seem to be an issue with the Chamber of Deputies. El Caribe newspaper continues to report on the ample benefits enjoyed by members of the Chamber of Deputies, including the use of luxury SUVs. The new president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, as reported in El Caribe reports that he would request the assistance of the Department of Vehicle Recovery of the Police to get the vehicles paid for by the Chamber back. Former president of the Chamber, Rafaela (Lila) Alburquerque recommended that he leave that matter alone as all the political parties benefited from privileges during her administration. Furthermore, El Caribe reports says that the Chamber in the final days of the Alburquerque administration issued checks for more than RD$600,000 to pay advertising in radio and TV news shows from 1 to 15 August, her last day on the job. | |||
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Baninter funds El Caribe reports that defense bar of former Baninter president, Ramón Báez Figueroa says they have deposited with Judge Eduardo Sánchez, who is preparing the case against Báez, documents that prove that important government officers received “dozens of millions” from Baninter, mentioning several of the checks were issued in the days prior to the passing of presidential reelection in the National Congress. Lawyers Vinicio and Juárez Castillo said that checks were issued to Agriculture Minister Eligio Jáquez, who is the coordinator of the PRD faction that seeks the re-election of Mejía, to National Treasurer Pastora Méndez de Fondeur, and to the director of the Social Plan of the Presidency, Ana María Acevedo. Diario Libre reports that National Treasurer Pastora Mendez confirmed that in April 2002, and by way of Marcos Báez Cocco, vice president of Baninter, she requested and obtained a line of credit for RD$30 million and opened a checking account at Baninter in her name, that of Eligio Jáquez and Ana María Acevedo. But, contrary to what she says the defense bar of Báez Figueroa implies, the money was not used to buy deputies so that these would introduce the re-election bill in Congress, but rather to support candidates in the congressional and municipal election. | |||
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Budget almost doubles from 2000 National Budget director told El Caribe he expects the 2004 National Budget to be RD$100 billion. This would be 88% increase over the RD$53 billion budget in the first year of the Mejía government, year 2000. Of the total, 40% would be used to pay the government’s domestic and foreign debt. | |||
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Hazoury leaves APAP board Azor Hazoury, Miguel Pimentel Kareh, Ricardo Pellerano, Maria Laura de Simó and Jorge Olivero, last Friday resigned as members of the board of directors of the Asociación Popular de Ahorros y Préstamos, as published in Hoy newspaper. The Monetary Board had issued a resolution on 28 August banning relatives of key officers in commercial banks be on the boards of other banks. Back in May, the government had revealed to the press during a meeting at the Presidential Palace held to announce the Baninter scandal that another of the irregularities was the agreement that Baninter’s leading shareholder Ramón Báez Figueroa (RBF) had reached with Azor Hazoury, leading officer of the Asociación Popular de Ahorros y Préstamos loans and savings financial company in August 2002. The plan, as explained by the government, had been to merge the two organizations, which would have been an illegal operation. At the time, four members of the board of directors of the Asociación Popular de Ahorros y Préstamos (APAP) — Héctor Mateo, Ligia Bonetti de Valiente, Pedro T. Esteva Troncoso and Mónica Armenteros de Torrón requested in a letter to the newly appointed Superintendent of Banks Julio Cross the resignation of key APAP executives. | |||
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Central American exports free from 2% tax Hoy newspaper reports that the Ministry of Industry & Commerce has replied to the Minister of Economy of El Salvador Miguel E. Lacayo that exports from that country to the Dominican Republic are not obliged to pay the 2% tax on imports, recently levied by the government to boost its fiscal revenues. The newspaper says that in the letter Industry & Commerce explains that Central American imports would receive preferential treatment in compliance with the free trade agreement. | |||
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New directors at Mercantil The board of directors of Republic Bank Limited of Trinidad and Tobago announced the appointment of Ronald Huggins, formerly deputy managing director of Republic Bank in Trinidad and Alberto Tarabotto, as president and chief operating officer respectively of their newly acquired Banco Mercantil in the Dominican Republic. Prior to joining Mercantil months ago, Tarabotto had been in charge of Scotiabank operations in the Dominican Republic. Huggins is also a past president of the stock exchange in Trinidad, as reported in Diario Libre. Recently, the Republic Bank Limited of Trinidad and Tobago purchased 93% of the shares of Mercantil, which primarily caters to retail and corporate clients. Banco Mercantil has been in existence since 1984. The failed bank was affected by a combination of what Central Bank Governor Jose Lois Malkum called improper administrative management and defective loans. The bank also suffered from the domino effect of the banking crisis (Baninter and Bancredito) and the devaluation of the peso which Andres Aybar, former president of Banco Mercantil in a letter to journalist Ana Mitila Lora, said impeded an agreement to be reached earlier to avoid the decapitalization of the bank. A statement from the Republic Bank indicates that they are taking over the failed bank that has 26 branches, 700 employees and US$142.8 million in assets. The Board of Directors of Banco Mercantil stated, “The entry of the significant Trinidad financial banking institution in the Dominican Republic will initiate a new era in the business relationship between both countries in which Mercantil will play an important role.” Republic’s chairman and managing director, Ronald Harford is optimistic about the new opportunities the acquisition will bring. “We have been doing business there for the last five years and have found it to be a country with significant opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago businesses. This purchase is consistent with our strategy of expansion into the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and will also allow Republic customers to deepen their ties with one of the largest markets in the Caribbean,” he said as reported in The Caribbean investor. Caribbean Investor points out that the acquisition is part of an expansion plan into the Spanish-speaking market. Republic Bank opened a Representative Office in Cuba in 2002 in Havana, which is making the Cuban market more accessible to Caribbean manufacturers desirous of exporting their products, as well as assisting Cuban companies in developing their Caribbean trade. Republic Bank has just finalized a US$100 million acquisition from the Barbados government of 57% of the Barbados National Bank, as reported in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper. | |||
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A President’s legacy The great-grandson of President Ramón Arturo “Mon” Cáceres Gúzman has completed the construction of a replica of the original presidential house that still stands in Estancia Nueva, Moca. The model is located in Cuesta Brava, Arroyo Honda in Santo Domingo. President “Mon” Cáceres ruled for over four years in the early part of the 20th Century. He was assassinated in 1911 at the intersection of Independence Ave. and Socorro Sánchez in the Gazcue section of Santo Domingo. His death was followed by a period of political chaos, ultimately provoking the United States’ intervention in 1916 to defend their terrain from European intervention and the collection of international loans. President Cáceres was known for his fair yet firm hand in government. His Republican Guard, known throughout the country as the “Guardia de Mon”, was famous for its force, and the expression “Preso por la guardia de Mon” still means that a person is locked up tight or in deep trouble. Despite his rigidity, President Cáceres also established hundreds of schools, extended the rail lines, rebuilt ports, established the Agricultural School in Moca, and started the highways that would eventually link the Cibao and the South with Santo Domingo. According to the President’s great-grandson, the replica’s purpose is to pay tribute to the memory of his ancestor and represents a yearning for the simplicity of a bygone era. | |||
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Internet accounts El Caribe newspaper reports that the most recent Dominican Institute of Telecommunications statistics show that in the Dominican Republic there are 71,000 internet accounts. Indotel estimates that about 500,000 persons are online in this country. Indotel statistics also show there are 2.4 million wired telephones, 500 rural telephones, and 1.8 million digital and analog mobile phones in use. There are 317 radio stations, 108 cable TV companies and 44 TV channels. In place are 10,000 radiocommunication frequencies, more than 42,000 beepers and 350 Internet labs. | |||
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Update on Hurricane Isabel As of 11 am Tuesday, Isabel strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane east of the Leeward Islands in the mid-Atlantic. Isabel is located about 2,335 kms (1,450 miles) east-southeast of the Samana peninsula with sustained speeds of 217 kph (135 mph) and gusts to around 242 kph (150 mph). Some strengthening is expected over the next 24 hours. Isabel currently is tracking west-northwestward but is expected to turn west or possibly west-southwestward in the next 24 hours due to a strong high pressure area to the north. The projected track would place the storm on a coarse in the general direction of the Turks and Caicos islands, passing parallel to the north coast of the Dominican Republic beginning late Sunday night through the day on Monday. At the present time hurricane force winds do not extend very far from the center of Isabel and the best projections at the moment keep the storm about 161 kilometers (100 miles) off the beaches of the North Coast. If this forecast proves correct the main impact on the Dominican Republic would be heavy rains, tropical storm force winds, and very heavy surf. For the latest discussion of the storm by DR1 weather experts, see http://www.dr1.com/forums/ | |||
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