| Daily News - Tuesday, 05 October 2004 |
US Secretary of Health Tommy G Thompson, US Surgeon General Richard H Carmona and Randall Tobias, the coordinator of US government activities to combat HIV/AIDS globally, participated in the opening of the III Conference on HIV/AIDS for the United States Mission Chiefs in the Caribbean, as reported in El Caribe. During the event, Thompson urged the area's countries to intensify their efforts. He stressed the need for certain mechanisms to be put into place and said that countries need to establish a system of accountability. He says that while the money is there, they need the cash to flow and more efficiency from the ambassadors working with the health officials and the presidents in order to sign agreements. During his visit to the DR, he participated in the signing of a US$54.26-million donation from the US government to improve health conditions in vulnerable Dominican segments of society from 2004 to 2007. This donation augments an initial donation of US$41.2 million to back efforts of the government to prevent, treat and mitigate HIV/AIDS in the country. Thompson said that of these resources, the DR has already received US$14 million to fight AIDS, and another US$2.6 million to combat tuberculosis.
Hans Hertell signed for the US and President Leonel Fernandez for the DR, while Public Health Minister Sabino Baez and Thompson acted as witnesses at the Presidential Palace.
Thompson urged the DR to convert one of its medical schools into a training facility for nurses and laboratory technicians. Furthermore, he told the Listin Diario newspaper that many nations, including the DR and the United States, fail to invest sufficiently to preventing sickness, which he says would entail great savings in the budgets needed to cure these illnesses. He described himself as a great champion in securing funds to combat HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.
Carmona, for his part, said that the US may collaborate on the construction of a second trauma hospital to reduce the mortality rate of traffic accidents. The hospital is to be erected on the Duarte Highway near San Francisco de Macoris.
Fabio Guzman, who answers questions on the DR1 Legal Forum, summarizes the main changes contained in the new tax reform law. See http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35103
The periodic Ros Consulting survey on wages paid by Dominican corporations indicated that earnings increased by 3-40%, with an average 18% more money earned across the board. The study looks into salary increases for the first eight months of the year. The survey also showed that the minimum wage paid in the participating companies was greater than the legal minimum. Congress seeks to pass a unilateral 30% wage increase, which is being debated by the representatives of companies who allege this should be left to the market and only minimum wage levels be fixed.
While efforts continue to restore a vehicular bridge over the Chavon River in order to provide a land link for La Romana and La Altagracia province, a barge is offering an alternative service. The Listin Diario reported that the ferry is charging RD$500 per car or pick-up truck. The ferry is not transporting cargo trucks.
Another option by land from Santo Domingo takes around eight hours (versus the previous 2-1/2 hours), as it requires a detour through El Seibo to the north and then a drive south to Higuey onto Bayahibe or Punta Cana.
Situation in the DR following the effects of Hurricane Jeanne on 16 September has very much improved. For an update on the status of hotels, see http://www.dr1.com/travelnews/status.shtml
The Dominican peso, which abruptly shot to a record two-year high of RD$27 to US$1 last week, lost out to the US currency and yesterday was being traded at RD$35.50 and RD$37 to US$1. Exchange banks said there was a scarcity of dollars.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa, as reported in Diario Libre, said that the problem is not the exchange rate itself, but one of stability. "It is important for the government that the dollar cost less, but we also need to take into consideration how the abrupt decline of the dollar affects the local sectors that generate dollars. The ideal would be for the exchange rate to stabilize," he said.
Bengoa admitted that the government stands to benefit the most from an appreciating peso as it will require less pesos to pay its foreign debt. He attributed the decline to the economic sectors' increased confidence in the new authorities.
To follow the daily fluctuations of the Dominican peso, see http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26541
A study conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and the Faculty for Social Sciences (Flacso) reveals that around 6,000 minors a year are trafficked to the DR in complicity with Dominican and Haitian military members. The organizations say that most of the youths are brought by a relative, but many are victims of scams by human smugglers. El Caribe reports that many of these minors are the type of children one finds on Dominican streets begging, or selling items such as peanuts or sweets, or the shoeshine boys in parks. Their meager earnings go to those who house them. Both Unicef and Flacso have begun a program to increase the awareness in Haiti and the DR on the smuggling of minors. The program is financed by USAID and the Pan American Development Foundation of Haiti (PADF). Priest Pedro Roquoy said that this is a very organized trafficking ring that operates with the support of Dominican authorities, including military and migration officers. Alfredo Andre, the parish priest in Anse a Pitre, Haiti, said that in El Manguito, Pedernales there is a warehouse for people recruited by the Haitian smugglers. Many of the adult first time emigrants are employed in agriculture. As reported in El Caribe, the difference between this activity and people smuggling in general is that the children are smuggled without their consent.
The Grupo de Apoyo a los Repatriados y Refugiados (GARR) said during their participation in the event that the trafficking of humans on the Dominican frontier generates substantial profits for the smugglers and their civilian and military accomplices, both Haitian and Dominican.
The former chief of the National Police, retired Major General Jaime Marte Martinez, classified the report that he was assigned 15 of the stolen vehicles recovered by the police as being false and full of lies. He said the story contains inconsistencies and irregularities and was the result of an investigational committee that never questioned him. He denied using or having assigned himself any such vehicles, or having given orders to others to assign them The scandal became public recently as recovered stolen vehicles that were not returned to their owners were instead being used by police officers. Marte spoke to the press after meeting with prosecutors at the district attorney's office. He has not given a public explanation on the case of the stolen vehicles during his term.
The former treasurer of Baninter (today Scotiabank), Manuel Guaroa Liranzo, is scheduled to appear next Friday in a court hearing to sustain a lawsuit he filed against the former president of the bank, Ramon Baez Figueroa. The Listin Diario reports that Liranzo was excluded from the allegations of fraud the Mejia government levied against Baninter. In May 2003, Liranzo received a payment of US$10 million from the Central Bank to the order of Scotiabank, to pay a loan that had been contracted, as well as a Central Bank certificate of investment for RD$551,540,000 that was cashed during the government transition period.
The newspaper explains that Liranzo's suit against Baez Figueroa seeks to dissolve the previous business ties in radio and television media. Guaroa Liranzo states that he had nothing to do with the management of the media, while the Baez Figueroa's defense counsel allege that the administration was in the hands of Rosario Abad, who is Liranzo's niece and kept him informed.
This is the third time Liranzo has been summoned to court. Previous summons had to be postponed after he alleged health reasons.
Twenty-two Dominican players are participating in the Major League Baseball playoffs. The teams this year are the St. Louis Cardinals vs the Los Angels Dodgers; the Altanta Bravos vs the Houson Astros; New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins; and Boston Red Sox vs Anaheim Angels. The players are Jose Offerman, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Vizcaino, Julio Franco, Cristian Guzman, Rafael Furcacl, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Enrique Wilson, Vladimir Guerrero, Adrian Beltre, Hector Luna, Duaner Sanchez and Yency Brazoban in the field. Pitchers are Julian Tavarez, Jose Lima, Odalis Perez, Antonio Alfonseca, Juan Cruz, Pedro Martinez, Bartolo Colon and Ramon Ortiz.
The regular season was a dream year for Dominican players, with the most outstanding being Vladimir Guerrero (Anaheim Angels, .339 batting average, 39 homeruns and 126 runs batted in), Manny Ramirez (Red Sox, 40 homeruns and 40 doubles, .308 batting average), Adrian Beltre (48 homeruns), Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals, 500 runs in his first four years in the Majors and 30 homeruns in his first four years), Miguel Tejada (Baltimore Orioles, 150 runs batted in), David Ortiz (Red Sox, 41 homeruns and 139 runs batted in), Aramis Ramirez (Chicago Cubs, 36 homeruns, 32 doubles and 103 runs batted in), and Moises Alou (Chicago Cubs, .293 average, 39 homeruns and 106 runs batted in).
See http://www.mlb.com
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