Hoy newspaper reports on the continuing crisis of the public hospital system, pointing out that the government-run Doctor Antonio Musa Hospital in San Pedro de Macoris is practically closed. The newspaper says that indigent patients who require the facility's services are dying because of a lack of medicines and supplies. For the same reasons, elective surgeries are no longer being offered. Blackouts of 20 hours have worsened the finances of the hospital, forcing it to run its own generator. The newspaper says that even emergency cases are now being turned away.
Hoy newspaper reports that President Hipolito Mejia visited the installations of the modern hospital being built by the Ministry of Public Health in Los Alcarrizos, in the Province of Santo Domingo. The hospital construction, funded by a foreign commercial bank loan, will reportedly cost Dominican taxpayers as much as RD$800 million. According to the newspaper, the project was begun in 1995 under the Balaguer administration with a budget of RD$80 million. In 2002, the budget to complete the construction rose to RD$129 million, without including the equipment. Today, the estimated end price of RD$800 million will include the facility's equipment. President Mejia has promised the hospital would be ready by 27 February 2004.
El Caribe reports that so far the incidence of dengue has increased by 30%, from 3,072 cases reported in 2002 to 4,430 probable cases this year, according to Public Health statistics. Doctors say this is partly due to the negligence of the public health authorities in carrying out routine educational campaigns this year.
Hoy newspaper reports that the mobile hospitals that were purchased for the Pan American Games have been parked for weeks outside of the Dominican Institute of Social Security and are gradually deteriorating for lack of use or maintenance. The newspaper points out the irony that this should happen in a country that is currently suffering a lack of medicines and medical supplies. The newspaper feels these mobile units should be sent to the aid of the many thousands affected by the flooding in the northwest.
The Dominican Center for Exports & Investments (CEI-RD) reports that exports for the first nine months of the year were up 6.32%. According to the governmental agency, exports stood at US$2.963 billion, which is US$176 million more than reported for January to September 2002. Diario Libre informs that non-free zone exports were up 3.86%, going from US$664.6 million for the first nine months of 2002 to US$690.3 million for the same period in 2003. There were increases seen in ferronickel and gypsum sales, as well as in cacao, coffee and sugar exports. Free zone exports that make up 77% of the total were up US$150 million, or 7%. The Dominican Association of Free Zones (Adozona) had reported that apparel exports, which make up most of free zone exports, were down 0.3% during the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year (see DR1 Daily News of 18 November). The Adozona report is based on data from the US Department of Commerce.
The governmental commission in charge of the liquidation of the holdings of Banco Intercontinental (Baninter) has announced that as of tomorrow, Wednesday 26 November, the bank will cease to operate. Only the branch located at the intersection of Av. Abraham Lincoln and Nunez Dominguez, in Santo Domingo, will remain open to assist clients with checking and savings accounts or certificates of deposit, who wish to have them transferred to the Scotiabank or the Central Bank as of 1 December, the deadline for the liquidation process. According to a press release from the commission, once the bank has been liquidated, any Baninter savings accounts that have not yet been transferred will be done so at a 0% interest rate. The bank has been converting dollar savings accounts and deposits at the rate of RD$25 to US$1.
As per Decree 1079-03, President Hipolito Mejia authorized the exoneration of taxes on books and magazines entering through customs on grounds that educational materials are necessary tools for the advancement of Dominican culture and learning. Diario Libre also reports that President Mejia signed Decree 1079-03 to permit the exoneration of taxes and tariffs on the import of raw materials, packaging material, inputs, machinery, equipment and spare parts for the manufacture of medicines for human and animal use entering the country.
Congress, the Supreme Court of Justice and the City of Santo Domingo have joined forces to rescue the Centro de los Heroes, the area located south of Winston Churchill Avenue that contains many government buildings. The Centro de los Heroes renovation plan began following the transfer of the more than 5,000 street vendors who took over the area every Sunday to sell their used clothing and wares. The vendors were relocated to Avenida Luperon, which is overseen by the municipal government of Santo Domingo West. There have already been complaints lodged regarding the chaos created by the vendors last Sunday, but apparently the plan is to disallow their return to the Centro de los Heroes. The head of the Supreme Court of Justice, Jorge Subero Isa, has lent his full support to the three-part initiative to restore the Centro de los Heroes area to its original splendor. "This is an indication that together we can achieve many things," said Jesus Vasquez Martinez, president of the Senate, who described the Centro de los Heroes as the area that concentrates the most important institutions of the country in an interview with the Listin Diario.
Former president of the National Council of Business, Celso Marranzini, says he is confident the Dominican Republic will overcome the present economic crisis in the short or medium range. He urged that the political parties put aside their internal differences and that there be more cohesion in Congress and the government to work for the common good. He criticized the 5% charge on exported goods and services, as was approved by the Senate and now awaits approval in the Chamber of Deputies. Marranzini's statements are part of an interview in the Listin Diario's economic section today. Concurring with his commentary is Lisandro Macarrulla, president of the Dominican Republic's Association of Industries. Macarrulla told the newspaper that what we have on our hands is first and foremost a confidence crisis. He understands that business associations may point to sectors that are enjoying relative dynamic growth, such as those related to exports, tourism services, and remittances, among others. Nevertheless, he says local industry is affected by a critical situation, given that demand has dropped sharply as a result of the economic measures implemented by the government. Macarrulla said that Dominican companies that have contracted loans in dollars are hurting because of devaluation, while simultaneously registering increases in their costs, particularly power service and imports. Macarrulla also stressed that the country needs to resume the agreement with the International Monetary Fund, in conjunction with a fiscal reform, so as to eliminate the temporary "band-aid" solutions that have been required in the economy. The Listin Diario also reports that the National Business Council wants Congress to ratify the fiscal reform now, and not wait until July 2004 as was proposed by the government. The reason for the later date would be to allow the May 2004 presidential elections to take place first, but business sectors say the economy cannot handle any more transitory measures in the interim. The business sector has also advocated that the government reduce its spending. The Mejia administration has not abandoned its practice of hiring new employees, despite the pressures on the economy.
Wanda Rijo will compete for the Dominican Republic in Athens' Olympic Games. The international weightlifting federation awarded the Dominican Republic two slots in the Olympic competition for its overall good performance. The name of the other woman weightlifter who will occupy the second slot has yet to be determined. Overall, the Dominican women's weightlifting team ranked 21st among 47 national teams in the 2003 World Weightlifting Championships held in Vancouver, Canada on 14-22 November. See http://www.2003wwc.com/
The Aguilas Cibaenas, winners of most of the championships in past years, now leads the Dominican Professional Baseball Championship, which has been underway since 31 October. The Aguilas celebrated on Sunday the feat of long-time player Luis Polonia, who became only the 10th player in the history of Dominican baseball to accumulate 600 hits or more in a regular season. Polonia has scored 941 hits throughout the regular season, semi-finals and finals, ranking him third for most hits in the history of Dominican baseball, behind Miguel Dilone and Jesus Rojas Alou. The winter baseball championship's standing this year has the Aguilas Cibaenas in the lead, followed by the Gigantes del Cibao, Tigres del Licey, Azucarerros del Este, Estrellas Orientales and, in last place, the Leones del Escogido.
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