The Chamber of Deputies ratified the DR-CAFTA agreement yesterday by a vote of 118-24. The Senate had approved the legislation last 25 August. United States ambassador Hans Hertell visited the deputies to congratulate them on the bill's passage. As a result of the legislative approval, as from January 2006 goods and services from the United States will enter the Dominican Republic 80% duty free. The remaining 20% will gradually be reduced over a specified period of time. The deputies took over eight hours of deliberations before the final vote. As reported in Hoy, the deputies that voted against the bill or who abstained said that the main reason for their negatives was the fact that they felt that the deputies had not fully understood the legislation they were approving. The FTA agreement is comprised of some 2,000 pages of text. Several of the deputies, including Pelegrin Castillo (FNP-National District), said that the legislation did not contain enough guarantees for local producers and should have been sent to a sub-committee for scrutiny.
Overall, the objectives of the DR-CAFTA agreement are the expansion and promotion of commercial ties between the Dominican Republic, the Central American nations and the United States, abolishing trade restrictions, easing frontier barriers for merchandise, and promoting fair trade in a duty free zone. Investment opportunities are another big part of the FTA, which also includes multiple guarantees and incentives for foreign investors.
As a result of the recent Petrocaribe group meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, headed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Dominican Republic will receive a respite from the current oil crisis. According to El Caribe and other papers, the DR will be able to purchase oil at the market price, and finance the better part of the transaction over 25 years at 1% interest. The announcement was made by Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson at the start of the Caribbean summit convening in Kingston. The summit is being attended by not only Hugo Chavez, but also Fidel Castro and all the other Caribbean heads of state or heads of government. Another interesting aspect of the agreement proposed by Chavez is the fact that the oil can be bartered, paid for in bananas, sugar, or rice, or some other currency. Venezuela is also willing to lend its expertise in expanding oil refining installations in the other Caribbean nations. Venezuelan petroleum minister Rafael Ramirez told reporters that Venezuela is also willing to come to the assistance of any of the Central American nations that is interested is such a deal. Perhaps in response to reports that the oil sales under the Petrocaribe agreement were somehow tied to political persuasions - as was reported by Bernardo Vega recently - Prime Minister Patterson said that "there are no political conditions imposed" in the oil purchasing agreements.
For his part, Dominican President Leonel Fernandez told the ministers and heads of state that the current oil crisis could only get worse, and that smaller nations needed to look into alternative energy sources for electricity.
Former officials of Hipolito Mejia's government who had been accused of corruption in the case involving greenhouses worth hundreds of millions of pesos have been found innocent by the magistrate of the Second Chamber of Instruction for the National District, Vanesa Acosta. Heading the list of the accused was former Ministers of Agriculture, Eligio Jaquez and Jose Antonio Fabelo, along with Jaquez' brother and a long list of PRD officials or their family members. The magistrate ordered that the travel restrictions imposed on the accused be removed at once.
According to the judge, the case presented by the Attorney General lacked sufficient proof and contained errors in procedure that caused the case to be tossed out. The Justice Department had accused the entire group, rather than each individual, of embezzlement, criminal association, fraud, abuse of trust in the case involving RD$500 million worth of greenhouses that were given away to the PRD faithful.
In one of the other major legislative initiatives undertaken by the Chamber of Deputies, the members of the lower house have passed the Consumer Protection Law. The new law guarantees the consumer the right to life, health, and physical security in the consumption or use of goods and services in the Dominican Republic. The law establishes the post of executive director of Pro-Consumer as the office that will handle investigations into consumer complaints. The law also guarantees consumer education in the use of goods and services. Severe sanctions are also outlined in the new law, especially for those who speculate, alter or who create fake shortages of key consumer products. As part of the educational program, all products must now bear a label that outlines, in Spanish, just what the product is intended for and what it contains.
The widely read column "Que se dice" boasts some interesting reading today. In the first part, the writer takes a look at Valverde senator Cesar Augusto Matias. According to the column, at this time, and it is important to point this out, it is surprising that anyone pays attention to the recurrent proposals for constitutional reform coming from Senator Cesar Augusto Matias, who, on this occasion, has been defined as being "preposterous" and "inappropriate" by some of his colleagues whose other remarks are just pointless and repetitive. This time, for a change, the main idea of the amendment was to extend the terms of the deputies and senators so that their election would coincide with the presidential elections. The basis for the move arises from the current situation: the urgent need to save fuel. The PRD senator, who says that he is not motivated by any opportunistic tendencies since his own re-election is assured, is not a politician who shrinks away from a rejection that he doubtless would call momentary (judging by his own legislative experiences), since he is convinced that in the future there will be an opportunity to re-submit the mess, with greater possibilities of passage, before his colleagues, since sometimes it happens that what yesterday was inopportune and preposterous, tomorrow might be reasonable and logical. Who knows?
Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez told reporters yesterday that the current oil crisis has caused airfare prices to increase between US$10.00 and US$15.00 due to fuel surcharges. Jimenez also said that the tragic situation in New Orleans could also have a negative effect on local tourism. As reported in Hoy, Jimenez said that there are very serious problems arising from the rise in oil prices on the world market and that " most Dominicans still do not have a full understanding of the consequences." The Tourism Minister pointed out that there is a growing airplane fuel shortage, and predicted that the cost of fuel used for aircraft was certain to increase. Jimenez was speaking at a ceremony at the Ministry of Tourism where the ministry signed an agreement with the Cristal company aimed at maintaining a higher level of hygiene at the nation's hotels and restaurants.
The dam on the Tireo River, one of the important parts of the Yuna River watershed, is well under way. In fact, today is the first anniversary of the start of construction of the dam project that will provide 50 megawatts of electric energy, save 387.000 barrels of oil and US$23 million each year. The project is budgeted at US$185 million and is being built by the Brazilian Norberto Odebrecht company. Today the dam is 34% complete. The construction of the dam will span two provinces, with the generator house and other machinery located in the Monsignor Nouel province and the dam itself located in La Vega province. Odebrecht is digging a 10-kilometer main tunnel, together with two shorter tunnels for a total of 15 kilometers of tunnels. Material from the tunnels is being used to build the dam itself. According to Samuel Peralta, the CDEEE official onsite, the dam will hold four million cubic meters of water and cover an area of slightly more than 25 hectares. When finished, the two 25-megawatt Pelton-type generators will provide 46 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. An additional benefit to the area is the new 27-kilometer access road that will help farmers in the Trieo and Constanza area to transport their products to market. The 42-month long contract includes US$2 million for the reforestation of the watershed with native species that will guarantee the dam a long and useful life.
Minister of the Interior and the Police, Franklin Almeyda has published a full-page announcement in all of today's newspapers that clearly establishes the government's new policy regarding who carries a sidearm. In Resolution Number 09-05, Almeyda says that from now on, private firearm licenses, either first time issue, renewals,, legalizations or transfers, will be given exclusively for possession, not for carry. It is understood that this means that the weapon will be kept in the residence, business, industry or office of the owner. Such a firearm must be kept in the glove compartment or a sealed box if it is carried in a vehicle, and in this case the weapon must be empty of shells and the clip separate from the weapon. The resolution also allows people responsible for carrying valuables to carry a weapon after providing certification from their company and proof from the Director General of Internal Revenue or commercial banks, financial institutions or people providing personal security to business people, public figures, artists, outstanding professional people or people exposed to risks, who must receive special approval from the Ministry of the Interior and the Police.
The resolution also provides for official permits as well as emphasizing that the resolution applies to all existing gun permits.
As a part of the celebration of the 142 anniversary of the Battle of 6 September, the city of Santiago has inaugurated the Boulevard of the Founding Fathers next to the San Luis Fort. The boulevard consists of a row of pedestals crowned with the busts of the different men considered to be the nation's early leaders. The ceremony was headed by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez . The main speech was made by General Gustavo Jorge Garcia, chief of the Second Military Region and the guiding spirit for the revaluation of the old fort. The Founding Fathers being honored are Juan Pablo Duarte, Francisco del Rosario Sanchez, Matias Ramon Mella, Pedro Santana, Jose Maria Imbert, Antonio Duverge, Juan Luis Franco Bido, Jose Joaquin Puello, Jose Maria Cabral, Juan Lafite, Jose Antonio Salcedo, Pedro Antonio Pimentel, Gregorio Luperon, Benito Moncion, Santiago Rodriguez, and Gaspar Polanco.
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