| Daily News - Monday, 20 September 2004 |
Some 15 million gallons of liquefied propane gas (LPG) arrived over the weekend, to help reduce the acute propane shortage presently being experienced. This shortage was inherited from the previous administration that amassed hefty arrears in its payments to suppliers, as reported in Diario Libre. Administrative Secretary of the Presidency Luis Manuel Bonetti said that with this shipment and others that are expected, the shortage should be over this week. On Sunday, several supply stations were dispatching propane gas.
The Consorcio SOMO (Soluciones Modernas) publishes a paid advertisement today confirming the winner of a tender called to automate the issuance of birth certificates, ID cards (cedulas) and voting cards. The new systems to be implemented will also permit electronic voting using biometric technology. The companies to participate are: Softek (www.softekpr.com), Samurai (www.samurai.com.br), Soinca, Microsoft (www.microsoft.com), Datacard Group (www.datacard.com), Print Shop (www.tarjetaplastica.com), Diebold Procomp (www.procomp.com.br), Omnitech, Gieseke & Devrient (www.gyd.com), Hewlett Packard (www.hp.com) and Identico. In addition, Eximbank of the US government and Bandes of Brazil will grant the loans to finance the project at a cost of US$58.6 million.
The company promises to implement the project in 275 days.
Jose Alfredo Rizek has been appointed by President Leonel Fernandez to head the Dominican Telecommunications Institute, INDOTEL. Rizek was previously the executive director of the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (FINJUS).
The Center of Emergency Operations reported a total of 13 Dominicans dead due to tropical storm Jeanne and 261 injured. Those who had to be evacuated numbered 38,188, most of them from the poorest sectors of society whose homes were built on vulnerable areas near rivers, such as in the area of the Ozama River. President Leonel Fernandez toured the country on Sunday and participated in meetings where decisions were made to accelerate the country's return to normalcy. Major flooding affected communities in El Seibo and the city of Higuey in the east and Nagua in the northeast. The flooding also caused major damages to plantations in the northeast.
AES Distribuidora del Este reports that the public power grids have been restored in La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris and Hato Mayor. According to a report in Hoy newspaper, power should be back in Higuey and El Seibo and rural areas of the province of La Altagracia. Work is underway to restore the damaged power lines in the southeastern and eastern areas.
EdeNorte and Edesur, the two other power distributors in charge of service to the northern and southern regions of the DR, announced they have invested RD$20 million to repair damages to the power systems.
PRD senators who were reluctant to vote on the tax reform that would give the Fernandez government more funds, now say they will vote favorably at a second reading of the bill that should be presented to the Senate on Tuesday. PRD spokesman Anibal Garcia Duverge said they would heed President Leonel Fernandez's plea that the bill be passed in order to provide the country with resources to assist those affected by Jeanne.
DR1 has prepared a general assessment of the status of the tourism industry. The page will enable us to do updates as they become available providing important information on the different tourism destinations in the country, reported from different sources. The page is available at http://www.dr1.com/travelnews/status.shtml For more information on weather in the DR, see the DR1 Weather & Beyond Forum at http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=34
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