| Daily News - 4 December 2003 |
Yesterday, in the eastern city of La Romana, President Hipolito Mejia reaffirmed his goal to lower the exchange rate to RD$30 to US$1. According to the Listin Diario, the President, while on the campaign trail, told reporters that he had shown patience in dealing with the elevated exchange rate, but has decided to stop "playing" with the problem. Mejia expressed confidence that the high-level commission that he appointed to check speculation and fraud in the exchange market would fulfill its duty, making sure the agreements reached on Tuesday with the banks and exchange houses are honored. The commission is headed by Armed Forces Minister General Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez and includes such figures as General Pedro de Jesus Candelier and the head of Internal Revenue, Quico Tabar, as members. Mejia emphasized that a reduction in the exchange rate would lower the cost of living for the neediest, citing that as one of his main concerns. In today's La Informacion, from Santiago, the headlines read: "Government intervenes in exchange houses." The report says that inspectors from the Superintendent of Banks and Internal Revenue entered several exchange houses to investigate alleged cases of hard currency deposits considered speculative in nature. According to Finance Minister Rafael Calderon, these are the cases that cause problems for the country. Calderon denied there was a process of militarizing the exchange process taking place.
The Supreme Court announced yesterday that the appeal to annul the decision of the Litigation Court of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) had expired and that the challenge on Eduardo Estrella's nomination as the official PRSC candidate was dismissed. The 16-judge panel decided that as Peynado had not summoned Estrella within the required 30-day period, the case was tossed out. Lawyers for the PRSC party had requested that the court reject the appeal last 13 November in accordance with the law.
Finance Minister Rafael Calderon announced yesterday that the government would pay RD$150 million to the importers of LPG (propane gas) as a partial payment on the RD$300-million debt. At the same time, Industry & Commerce Minister Sonia Guzman de Hernandez reaffirmed that within 12 days the propane supply problems would be solved by the arrival of another tanker loaded with 11.5 million gallons of the widely-used fuel. Both government officials made their statements to the press after a meeting with the head of the Dominican Refinery, Amaury Justo Duarte, and the importers and distributors of the commodity. Calderon told reporters that President Mejia had told them "to pay the money between now and next week." For her part, Guzman de Hernandez told reporters that the government would continue to subsidize propane, while simultaneously warning the buying public to be patient. In a related story in the economic section of the Listin Diario, the head of the refinery, Amaury Justo Duarte, told reporters that he supports the removal of the government subsidy that has kept the price of propane at RD$25 a gallon. To his way of thinking, the subsidy greatly favors large commercial users of propane, such as hotels and bakeries. While not opposed to the subsidy in principle, Justo Duarte said he would prefer to see that it be more focused on certain consumers, instead of globally. The refinery chief pointed out the broad use of propane in public and private transport, calling it "unfair". Meanwhile, consumers have to deal with the inconveniences the acute scarcity of the LPG is causing.
Edenorte and Edesur have announced a series of planned power outages that will affect most of the northern and southern areas of the Dominican Republic. According to the message in today's Listin Diario, the blackouts will begin on 6 December and last until 12 December. La Vega is scheduled to initiate the process, which entails heavy work on the distribution system as well as routine maintenance. On 8 December the provinces of Duarte, Monsenor Nouel (Bonao), Puerto Plata, Salcedo and Santiago will be affected. In the south, Edesur is planning programmed outages for 9-11 December to conduct regular maintenance of the distribution lines.
The National Association of Gasoline Retailers (ANADEGAS) is requesting the government honor promises made to them in the accords designed to assist the profit margins for most gas station owners. The retailers point out that the government has only fulfilled its commitment to increase their earnings by 22%, while ignoring the other points. The association says the difficulty rests in the fact that the other issues are far more technical in nature and the government does not have the equipment to carry out the controls needed to settle the problems. According to the retailers, "The association has suggested solutions to the problem of the technical losses that will not impair the general population…"
El Caribe reports that the National Institute of Forensic Pathology has classified 968 deaths for the year as 'homicides', an average of three per day. According to Tania Molina, the El Caribe reporter, during the period from January to October the coroner's office performed 1,960 autopsies, of which 968 were homicides. Gunshots were the cause of 713 deaths, of which there were 55 suicides. Knife wounds were the cause of 218 murders.
The Demographic and Health Survey 2002 revealed that a woman dies every 24 hours as a result of complications in her pregnancy. The survey is the result of an 18-month study carried out by the Center for Demographic and Social Studies (Cesdem) and sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ministry of Public Health, the Executive Commission for the Reform of the Health Sector and the Presidential Council on AIDS. The research was financed by USAID. In a somewhat related story, the director of the Doctor Antonio Musa Hospital in San Pedro de Macoris told reporters that doctors working in the facility's neonatal unit run the risk of being sued if the causes of the deaths of 22 infants during October and November can be determined. Nonetheless, Dr Eulises Mazara confirmed that the some of the fatalities were the result of a lack of oxygen and electricity. As the hospital's director, Dr. Mazara said that under the General Health Law, the doctors in the neonatal care unit were negligent.
El Caribe carries a great story about the new wave of young Dominican baseball players who are considered to be top prospects for major league teams. During the first weeks of the Winter Baseball League, some of the novice sluggers have been so outstanding that they have taken over positions normally filled by big-name players. Throughout the six teams, there are 40 such newcomers, many of whom arrive on the heels of a very good season in the Minor Leagues. These ballplayers have made the prestigious lists compiled by Baseball America, the publication that compiles the best prospects throughout the Minor Leagues. Some of the new talent includes Andy Marte, a third baseman and one of the most highly-regarded recruits. Marte was ranked third among prospects from the Carolina League. There is also Ramon Nivar, who plays for the Escogido team in Santo Domingo and who burned up the AAA circuit with Oklahoma. Last year he was fourth in the AA league and this year debuted in the big leagues with the Texas Rangers. Freddy Guzman, an outfielder, is ranked twentieth in the Pacific Coast League (AAA), and Victor Diaz, a second baseman, has been labelled one of the top ten prospects in the New York Mets system. Other names that stand out are Adriano Rosario, Feliz Pie, Eric Aybar, Wilson Valdez, Onil Joseph, Dennis Bautista and Victor Mendez. As veteran reporter Heriberto Morrison says, these kids are playing so well that some will take over positions reserved for major league stars. Given the high level of the play in the Dominican Winter League, this is a very high compliment. For the sports fan, it's just another reason to catch a ball game.
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