Industry & Commerce Minister Francisco Javier Garcia informs that the price of propane gas will vary weekly, indexed to the cost of fuel and the exchange rate, in the wake of the government's decision to eliminate the propane gas subsidy to business and industry. The move represents savings of RD$2.76 billion of a total of RD$10 billion in official assistance. DR1 erroneously reported yesterday that a 100-lb tank of propane gas would cost RD$560, whereas the new price is actually RD$1,348, the result of there being 24-26 gallons in a 100-lb tank (24 x $55.19=$1,348). The 250-gallon gas tanks, which are commonly kept in apartments and condominiums and which previously cost RD$6,250 to fill, will now cost RD$14,048, as reported in El Caribe.
The government continues to sell propane gas at filling stations for RD$25 per gallon to those with 100-lb tanks or smaller.
On the TV show Hoy mismo that is produced by Cesar Medina, Cristian Jimenez and Yolanda Martinez, Javier Garcia explained the new mechanism that will be used to direct the subsidized sale of propane gas to low-income families. The minister said that some 500 filling stations have been designated and are being fitted with Veriphone credit card equipment in order to charge the government for the subsidy portion of the sales to low-income families who qualify for the program. These consumers will receive a voucher needed to obtain a refund or subsidy. He said these families will be authorized 12 credits a year. Javier estimates the new system will produce savings of RD$7 to RD$7.5 billion a year for the government.
A census needs to be carried out to identify the beneficiaries. Javier Garcia furthermore said that surveys are being conducted in coordination with churches and special offices in municipalities nationwide to identify the low-income families eligible for program.
These households will be issued credit cards to be used in the new subsidy setup, which will enable them to continue purchasing the fuel at RD$600 per 100-lb tank. The same families, the beneficiaries of what is to be known as the Sistema Unico de Beneficiarios (Siuben), will also qualify for the Comer es Primero program, yet to be announced.
In its editorial today, Hoy newspaper asks whether the government will modify the petroleum tax to remove the portion previously directed to subsidize propane gas. The writer wonders what effect the move will have on public transport, as taxis had predominantly used the subsidized fuel, while pegging their prices to the price of the more expensive gasoline.
The editorialist also notes that the elimination of the subsidy to businesses is likely to bring an increase in the cost of bread as a consequence, for instance. Milciades Villar, of the Villar Hermanos bakery, confirmed to Hoy newspaper that the bakeries will transfer their increased production costs to consumers.
The changes to the propane gas system received the support of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants, the National Council of Business (CONEP).
President Leonel Fernandez appointed retired Major General Luis A Luna Paulino of the Air Force as the new director of Civil Defense, to replace retired Admiral Radhames Lora Salcedo. Luna will now head disaster prevention and relief efforts.
Marino Feliz Terrero was appointed director of the Oficina Nacional de Derecho de Autor (ONDA), the copyright office.
Rafael Perez Duverge is the new executive director of the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IDIAF), the country's leading agriculture research center.
Natasha Sanchez was named the president of the management board of the Corporacion de Radio y Television (CERTV-Channel 4), the state television station.
Rosa Maria Vicioso was appointed director of the National Theater in Santo Domingo.
The Fernandez government has designated the 25th day of the month as its once-a-month payday for government employees. The Mejia administration had done its payroll twice a month, once on the 10th and again on the 25th. The new measure goes into effect as of 25 September, as was confirmed by Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa. Bengoa said that paying once a month will avoid delays and reduce financial costs for the government.
Most schools in the Dominican Republic reopen their doors on Monday, 6 September. According to his agenda, President Leonel Fernandez will participate in an event at the Profesor Juan Bosch School in the slum area of La Puya, in Arroyo Hondo to ring in the new school year. Some 2.5 million children return to classes as of Monday.
The president of the Association of Restaurants and owner of the Scherezade Restaurant, Elizabeth Schecker, expressed her concern for the rising costs affecting restaurants. She said that most restauranteurs will choose not to pass on the more than doubling in the increase of the cost of propane gas to their customers, out of fear for reducing patronage. The elimination of the subsidy will significantly increase the cost of food preparation.
On the other hand, Johnny Bernal, the president of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (Asonahores), said that while his organization backs the removal of the subsidy to the sector, they are concerned about how the measure will particularly affect restaurants, especially at a time when the new tax reform is proposing an additional 4% to the ITBIS tax charged for food service. "It is possible that some will close, which is unfortunate because gastronomy is an important part of the tourism product," he said.
Sigma Alimentos, a leading Mexican alimentary company, announced the acquisition of all assets and brands of Productos Sosua, the cold cuts and dairy factory based in Puerto Plata. The purchase of Productos Sosua follows that of Productos Checo, acquired by Sigma in 2003. Sigma reports that Productos Sosua had sales of US$40 million last year.
Sigma, a leader in refrigerated products in Mexico, has operations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, with total annual sales of US$1.05 billion.
http://www.sigma-alimentos.com/noticias/chen.htm
New investors are changing the landscape of the DR's food companies' ownership. The Dominican partners of Parmalat reportedly purchased a large percentage of the company's Italian shareholders' participation. Local owners of the Pepsi brand have also sold the majority of their operations to a Brazilian company.
Corn syrup producers of the United States have requested that US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick intervene to remove a paragraph from the text that would penalize companies using the cheaper corn syrup as a sweetener with a 25% surcharge. The Chamber of Deputies has included the additional charge in the tax reform bill currently under study in the DR Congress. The paragraph in question seeks to restore protectionism of the Dominican Republic's sugar industry. The Corn Refiners' Association and the National Corn Growers' Association objected that the change would override the Free Trade Agreement signed between the DR and the United States recently. Diario Libre reports that the use of corn syrup is subject to duty in Mexico, and the corn syrup producers do not want the same to happen in the DR.
The Corn Refiners' Association and the National Corn Growers' Association condemn the legislation that would impose a restriction on the domestic sale of beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
"Legislators in the Dominican Republic are clearly trying to shield their sugar producers from import competition just as the United States is poised to consider a free trade agreement with that country," said Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners' Association. "Passage of this legislation would call into question the two-way trade envisioned under the Central American Free Trade Agreement and could seriously jeopardize CAFTA ratification."
Dominican sugar producers objected to the DR-CAFTA on grounds that it would affect their profitability and local sales. Recently, on the other hand, Atahualpa Dominguez, spokesman for the association of companies that use sugar as an input material said that local protectionism has resulted in a reduced production of manufacturing industries by at least 50%. They attributed this to the higher cost of locally produced sugar, which renders it non-competitive with imports and less competitive in export markets.
See http://www.corn.org/newsroom.htm
Chief of police Major General Manuel de Jesus Perez Sanchez reported the arrest of two of the four delinquents who, disguised as police, assaulted and sexually violated a minor at the gateway of her luxury high rise in Santo Domingo on Friday. The 16-year-old and her father, economist Eduardo Tejera went public with the case in an attempt to prevent future incidents. Julio Cesar Mena Mena, one of those arrested who admitted to the crime, has a record of previous arrests and confrontations with the law, as reported in Hoy newspaper. Also arrested was 21 year old Luis Alejandro Estrella. The teenager was on her way home in a car driven by youth Federico Gonzalez Ricart. The youth was beaten up and the girl was taken and raped by the gang at the gateway of her luxury high rise on the Mirador del. The offenders were identified by Federico Gonzalez Ricart and friends Rafael Elias Gil Cruz and Miguel Diaz Feliz, who had escorted the girl home at midnight after having been together at a city discotheque. The chief of the police said a complete report on the incident would be presented on Wednesday. The case has been the talk of the town since Friday, when the details first began to emerge.
Priest Domingo Espinal of the Inmaculada Concepcion parish, accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy, was detained at the Palacio de Justicia jail of Ciudad Nueva. Espinal was a protege of former President Hipolito Mejia, who employed him as the chaplain of the Presidential Palace church and promoted him to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Armed Forces. Espinal's case stagnated in the court system, a fact that was widely attributed to the support he received from former Attorney General Victor Cespedes and District Attorney Maximo Aristy Caraballo. With a new team of prosecutors now in charge, however, the case that was first brought to light by the boy's parents, who repeatedly said they had refused offers to be bought out, was swiftly reactivated. Espinal was arrested on the orders of the Judge Alfredo Rios Fabian of the Fourth Instructional Court of the National District and will be taken to the Najayo jail in San Cristobal. The judge explained that despite the denials of guilt from the priest, a forensic report supported the charges against him. The parents originally took their accusations to the department for Children and Adolescents of the Attorney General's Office, but the charges were disregarded. The parents pushed the case ahead regardless, taking it to the coordinating judge of civil courts, Doris Pujols Ortiz, who forwarded it to Rios Fabian's court, where the investigation was reopened. Espinal was the director of the Escuela Victor Garrido in the INVI neighborhood located at 10-1/2 Km of the Prolongacion Independencia in Santo Domingo. The adolescent alleges that he was raped at gunpoint by the priest behind the school last year.
With forecasts that predicted the storm would be at a distance of 140 miles from the Dominican Republic as it passes this afternoon over the North Coast, Frances has kept to its US weather service forecast track (NHOA) and has headed north. This course moves it away from the Dominican Republic. With the exception of some big breakers, wind gusts and ocean swells, Frances has hardly been felt at all. The local weather service is still warning of intense rains for the North Coast, but so far reports from Puerto Plata say that tourists in the area have spent the day watching the ocean tides, and there have only been light rains. For information on the progress of the storm as it approached the DR, see http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34105
El Caribe newspaper today carries an analysis that highlights the greatest moments of Dominican athleticism. In their opinion, the greatest physical feats have been:
- 1946: The Dominican Republic wins gold in women's volleyball in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia.
- 1968: Teo Cruz wins the lightweight world boxing title in a bout against Puerto Rican Carlos Ortiz at the Quisqueya Ball Park.
- 1977: Dominican Republic wins gold in the Central American and Caribbean Basketball Championship.
- 1983: Pitcher Juan Marichal is inducted to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, USA.
- 1984: Boxer Pedro Julio Nolasco becomes the first Dominican to win an Olympic medal, taking home the bronze from the Los Angeles Games.
- 1998: Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs hits 66 homeruns, coming in second to Mark McGwire of the St Louis Cardinals who hit 70 homeruns in the Home Run Chase that captured the attention of baseball fans all over the world.
- 1999: Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez wins the triple crown for most games won, most batters struck out and best earned run average.
- 2004: Felix Sanchez wins the Dominican Republic's first gold medal in any Olympic Games.
The Senate yesterday voted to name Sanchez, Glory of National Sports.
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