President Leonel Fernandez has stated that if the price of petroleum continues to increase on the international market, this could lead to de-stabilization and lack of governance, which he believes should worry both rich and poor countries. According to Diario Libre, the President warned that some analysts are expecting that the price per barrel of crude oil will reach US$100. The President was speaking during a public hearing in Moca where he pointed out the need for Congress to ratify the DR-CAFTA.
Although the Ground Transportation Department (OTTT) hasn't fixed a new official fare, different transport trade unions have announced increases in the cost of public transportation. Diario Libre reports that the National Unified Transporters Center (CNTU) has increased their fares by RD$2, saying that the OTTT has not responded to their demands. Ramon Perez Figuereo of the CNTU said that OTTT Director German Pena Guadalupe has not wanted to regulate fares according to the new prices of fuel. Juan Hubieres of the FENATRANO union - which controls 45% of the urban public transport system - said the new fares would come into effect on Thursday. This union is raising fares by RD$2 and RD$3 on longer routes. CONATRA union leader Antonio Marte announced increases of RD$3 for urban routes. Inter-urban routes have been increased by between RD$3 and RD$5. The fare increases apply to buses; fares for public cars or "conchos" remain the same. El Caribe adds that the CNTU has authorized a RD$5 increase in taxi fares and that the increases authorized for other vehicles applies only to those running on gasoline or diesel. This is because a very high percentage of public cars or "conchos" use propane gas as fuel, and thus benefit from the government subsidy on the gas. Listin Diario states that CONATRA will wait until Wednesday for a reply from the OTTT to increase the urban fares as the higher interurban fares are being applied since last weekend. Also, FENATRANO leader Hubieres explained that the increase is unavoidable due to the continuously higher prices of fuel. The OTTT director was unavailable for comment.
The Metropolitan Transport Authority is implementing a new system whereby public transport taxis would operate on an inter-daily basis in Santo Domingo and Santiago. Green or yellow identified taxis will operate on separate days. AMET director, General Jose Fernandez Fadul told the press that this will reduce contamination and traffic jams. He expects the system to be fully functioning in 45 days. Taxis need to purchase the identification stickers for RD$380.
The power outages that have been affecting the country are not due to lack of generation but rather to faults in transmission, an area that comes under the responsibility of the Dominican State-Owned Electrical Companies (CDEEE). As reported in Diario Libre, EdeNorte and EdeSur power distribution companies have proved that the payments to generating companies have been made on time since January to the present, to show that the generators were not being shut down to demand the payment of debts. The Superintendence of Electricity has stated that supply has reached 90% of demand, bringing the service back to normal after three consecutive general blackouts over the last five days. The CDEEE hasn't explained the reasons for the faults in the Haina and Itabo networks, nor are the generators explaining why they shut down their units.
Vice President Rafael Alburquerque led a meeting last Monday with representatives of the World Bank (WB) and the Central Electoral Board (JCE), where they discussed a US$50 million loan for the implementation of a program which will provide birth certificates and identification cards (cedulas) to undocumented Dominicans. According to Clave Digital, the Vice President said that the meeting had satisfied the concerns of the JCE and the WB regarding the issue. The group will meet again once Congress approves the loan. JCE President Luis Arias said it was "disastrous" that so many people do not have identity documents. "The WB understands the situation and that makes me feel optimistic and satisfied", said Arias. WB representative Maximiliano Paolucchi said that they are supporting the program because it will help Dominicans access basic services that will allow them to get out of the vicious circle of poverty. He stated the WB would do whatever is possible to help the Dominican government in this task.
The government made the first of several monthly disbursements of US$2 million to a group of businessmen for the completion and equipping of the private Metropolitan Hospital of Santiago (HOMS) last Monday. Clave Digital reports that the money was delivered by the Administrative Secretary of the Presidency, Luis Manuel Bonetti, and the Minister of Public Health, Juan Bautista Rojas, during a private ceremony in the HOMS offices on Duarte Highway. The government has allocated an additional US$10 million to this project, which will be disbursed in equal monthly installments of US$2 million until the end of this year. The President's decision to use public funds for the HOMS generated harsh criticism throughout the country because of the precarious situation in the public hospital system and the demands for better working conditions and higher salaries made by physicians and nurses. Bonetti said that in addition to the US$2 million disbursed, the government would provide another US$15 million in medical equipment. Also present at the ceremony were the president of the Board of Directors of HOMS, Dr. Rafael Sanchez Espanol and businessmen Jose Clase and Carlos Sully Fondeur, shareholders of the health center. As reported in El Caribe, Bonetti explained that the health center's Administration Board will be composed of five members representing the government and five from the private sector, whereas the latter will be in charge of management. The government will be represented by the Administrative Secretary of the Presidency, Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa, the legal advisor to the Executive Branch, Cesar Pina Toribio, Gustavo Rojas and Bautista Rojas Gomez. The agreement between the government and the shareholders stipulates that the Ministry of Public Health will have the right to offer the hospital's services to poor people.
President Leonel Fernandez has ordered the Ministry of Public Works to take action in the town of Sanchez in the province of Samana. Several houses in the town have collapsed causing major concern to the community. Juan Payero, director of the seismology institute at the state university UASD, explained that the problems are mainly due to sub-standard construction in areas over subterranean waters. He explained that recent rains have worsened a situation that was already in the making. The residents will have to be relocated. Sanchez is a town where early 20th century wooden houses have been replaced with concrete homes in many of the affected areas. The concrete homes, however, were not built with adequate foundations or with sufficient reinforced beams to sustain the ground deficiencies.
This is the third consecutive year that Banco Popular is selected "Bank of the Year of the Dominican Republic" by the magazine The Banker, edited by the Financial Times of London. El Caribe reports that the classifications made by this magazine are based on rigorous and objective analyses of business and finance in over 130 countries, reflect the achievements of the world's main financial institutions and are considered an indicator of their institutional strength. According to a note by Tanny Ribeiro, representative of The Banker for Latin America, the Caribbean and Iberian Peninsula, the Banco Popular Dominicano won after a rigorous revision of the banks in the Dominican financial system, and this recognizes it as the "best bank for doing business in that country". Euromoney magazine also classified the Popular as the "Best Bank in the Dominican Republic in 2005". The bank's president, Manuel A. Grullon, said he was satisfied with these new recognitions and indicated that they are tributes to the quality of service at Popular, the backing and trust of their clients and the general public, as well as the international projection of the efficiency, strict compliance with world financial practices and the financial solvency and strength of the oldest private bank in the country.
Tourism businessman Rafael Blanco Canto, a former president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association has said that the Dominican Republic has lost its competitiveness in the Caribbean tourism market and is beginning to confront difficulties due to increasing operational costs. He said that the reasons behind the increases in costs is the 26% appreciation of the Dominican peso, wage increases of up to 70%, and the increase in the cost of electricity, an average of 60%. The vice president of the Viva Wyndham Resorts says that the hotel sector is urging that the ITBIS (VAT) tax be set lower for the tourism industry than for other sectors. He mentioned, as reported in the Listin Diario, that in Mexico there is a 15% rate of general ITBIS and a 10% for the tourism state of Quintana Roo where Cancun, Riviera Maya and Cozumel are located. He says that likewise, Jamaica has a general 15% VAT and it applies 5.9% to the tourism sector. In the Bahamas, he says there is a general VAT rate of 6%, which is just 2.4% in the tourism sector.
Meanwhile, the president of the tourism commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Francisco Soliman (PRD-La Altagracia) said that they would consolidate the support of provinces where there is a strong tourism presence to promote an alliance for legislation aimed at strengthening the development of the tourism industry. As reported in Hoy newspaper, he said that the provinces that benefit directly from tourism are seeking that the fiscal reform ensures competitiveness and creates the necessary conditions so that the sector can continue to be strong and grow. He favored the introduction of a reduced VAT rate for the tourism sector. "If we do not recognize that tourism needs fiscal parity with other countries, then the impact of the loss of competitiveness will be felt in a loss of jobs, less investment and other sectors of the economy will be affected, particularly the farming sector that will lose its main market, and industry, that will also be affected by the decline in hard currency," he stated.
PRD leaders have classified the first year of the PLD administration as negative, mostly in the economic aspect, "despite the constructive cooperation it has received from opposition parties". PRD president Ramon Alburquerque stated that after one year of the PLD in office, there is less employment and lower income, higher crime and cost of living. The PLD government collects and spends more money, but is helping the poor less and also presents strong deterioration in health and education services, stated Alburquerque in a press release yesterday. He said that the PRD has used its majority in Congress to support the government in an effort to contribute towards the country's economic, social and political development. He added that remittances from abroad have decreased and that over 34,900 free zone workers and 11,000 from the tourism sector have lost their jobs.
A child was wounded by a stray bullet resulting from a gang fight in Villa Consuelo yesterday. Three other people were also wounded. A report in Diario Libre states that eight-year-old Coralis Severino was taken to Rodriguez Santos Clinic after being hit in the left thigh by a bullet while a neighbor was combing her hair. The child's parents, Paulino Severino and Rita Soriano, are asking for justice. "I want the police to identify who is responsible for this and take them to court", said the mother. The father is worried about the girl's leg which had to be operated on as the bullet injured a vein. Coralis was taken out of intensive care yesterday and physicians believe that there won't be any permanent injury. El Caribe reports on a separate case involving twelve-year-old Joselito Hernandez Garcia, who was hit by a bullet in his left eye, causing severe injuries that could lead to the loss of the organ. Joselito was taken to Luis Eduardo Aybar Hospital where physicians have still not operated on him due to the large amount of patients scheduled for surgery in the hospital. The boy's aunt, Griselda Garcia said that they heard shots at around 1:00 am near Calle Interior F in Gualey, a barrio in Santo Domingo, where Joselito lives with his grandmother Milagros.
At a press conference yesterday, the Interior and Police Minister Frankin Almeyda Rancier delivered 14 Harley Davidson motorcycles to the Chief of Police, General Bernardo Santana Paes. The bikes cost US$17,000 each, and are to be used immediately for the patrolling of Capotillo in the northern part of Santo Domingo. He said that the agents will be on permanent patrol in the area and that the motorcycles are exclusively for agents who are able to take them home and give them maintenance. The agents that will patrol Capotillo will receive a RD$6,000 incentive in addition to their basic salary. Almeyda said that this type of motorized patrol would be extended to other areas but that Capotillo was selected as a pilot project. There are 230 police agents permanently assigned to Capotillo. The president of the Capotillo Development Council, Josefina De Jesus, thanked the government for equipping the agents.
Army personnel have arrested 480 illegal Haitian immigrants and seized six vehicles and commodities at different border checkpoints near Dajabon. El Caribe reports that the Haitians crossed the border on four buses and admitted paying between RD$1,300 and RD$1,500 to be taken to Santiago. They were taken to the Army base at Dajabon from where they were deported back to Haiti, and the vehicles, drivers and several suspects were sent to the Armed Forces Intelligence Department. The merchandise that was seized included rice, beans, and garlic which had been donated to Haiti by international aid organizations.
Seven 12-milimeter rifles, one 45-caliber pistol, and one 38-caliber revolver, together with 20,000 bullets for Fal and M-16 guns destined for Haiti were seized in the community of El Limon, in Jimani province. Hoy reports that this is the largest weapons smuggling operation intercepted during the last months. During a press conference, army spokesman Colonel Rafael Emilio Luna Pichirilo said that the weapons and ammunition were being kept at the Intelligence Department of the Armed Forces. Cesar Diaz Silverio was arrested after admitting that he had been hired by a Haitian to transport the weapons to Haiti for RD$4,000. Luna Pichirilo assured that the army has not lost any ammunition after stating that a daily audit is kept by them. The Intelligence Department is investigating the origin and destination of the weapons and bullets.
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