President Leonel Fernandez sounded off against his critics last Saturday when he announced the reconstruction of the highway between Bani and San Cristobal, "no matter what." The Chamber of Accounts had announced the suspension of work until an audit could be completed. The President, who was speaking before the Peravia Provincial Development Council, told his audience that once work was started up on Monday (today), neither "rain, wind or thunder" would halt the work until it was completed. Fernandez said that he had given instructions to Freddy Perez, the Minister of Public Works, not to stop construction and that he had held talks with the Modesto Construction firm in order to halt any further delays.
The Latin Barometer Corporation, an NGO based in Chile, has given Dominican President Leonel Fernandez a 53% confidence rating. This report, on 18 governments and their presidents, shows that 62% of the population approves of the government and that 53% have confidence in the President. Now, it should be understood that, according to the Diario Libre, the survey was taken all over Latin America, and used 20,209 interviews in 18 different countries. To the question of whether or not the nation's elite is doing what is right, the response was just a 36% rating. More information can be found on www.latinobarometro.org
Jose Tomas Perez, the lone PLD senator in Congress, announced his decision to not run again on the PLD ticket for the National District seat in the Senate in the May 2006 congressional election. He said his decision comes because a consensus was not reached in the party to consolidate a candidacy. Meanwhile, the PLD faction of Secretary of the Presidency Danilo Medina presented the party's secretary general, Reinaldo Pared Perez, as its candidate to senator.
In his announcement that he would not seek to repeat as senator, Jose Tomas Perez warned that if the PLD does not present a solid and consensus candidate, it will have a hard time defeating the opposition if the PRD and the PRSC join forces and present unified candidates. Nevertheless, Perez said he would continue to work for the party. He announced that he would present several bills that he considers are essential through the end of his term in August 2006.
Economist and historian, Bernardo Vega writes in El Caribe newspaper today that the numbers of undecided voters has increased, as per results of the survey carried out by the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Sociales (CIES) of UNIBE, under Wilfredo Lozano and Ramon Tejada Holguin. The poll indicates that the number of undecided voters went from 16% in February to 22% in August and 28% in September. At the same time, voter preference for the PRD has fluctuated from 15% in March, 20% in August and 16% in September. Voter preference for the PRSC has gone from 9 in March to 14% in August and 13% in September. At the same time, the ruling PLD party has seen its popularity decline from 59% in February to 43% in August (according to Gallup), down to 40% in September. Vega points out that the number of undecided voters is equivalent to the sum of the voting preferences for the two opposition parties, the PRD (16%) and the PRSC (13%). He points out that the increase in the undecided voters can be attributed to voters not approving of government of either of the three majority parties.
He asks why has the popularity of the PLD declined from 59% popularity to 40% in only six months? He points out that while in the past economic issues were the most important, today 37% of the country points to delinquency, public insecurity, drug consumption and drug trafficking as major problems. He points out that for the PLD to increase its popularity it will have to take action to convince the population that it is truly fighting against delinquency and drug trafficking.
The DNCD has arrested three Colombians and a Venezuelan with 39.22 kilograms of heroin. The arrest in Santo Domingo is the largest of its type so far. According to Vice-Admiral Ivan Pena Castillo, the four were arrested on Lovaton Street in Santo Domingo's Gazcue neighborhood as they were getting ready to move the cache to Santiago. Colombians Jaime Ordonez, 38, Mario Magmuth, 41 and Maria Elsa Triana, 33, were arrested along with Venezuelan Reynaldo Enrique Zavarce Arroyo, 31. The group was arrested last Saturday as they were getting into two vehicles, supposedly heading towards Santiago. Pena Castillo told reporters from El Caribe that while the four have admitted that the drugs came from Colombia, they have still not revealed where they entered the country or where they were to be shipped. The DNCD leader said that it was clear that the drugs had been prepared for transshipment, since part of it was divided into small packets that could be ingested, and part had been prepared for placement in suitcases. Admiral Ivan Pena Castillo said that the network of drug traffickers was most certainly international in scope, since there were no Dominicans involved in the arrests, and this is something new in drug trafficking. He said that one of the four had entered the Dominican Republic two weeks ago and that that person had been under constant DNCD surveillance. Finally, Pena Castillo pointed out that international drug traffickers now prefer to use "mules" that carry the drugs, since airport security only apprehends between 10% and 15% of them.
The head of the Dominican National Department for Drug Control (DNCD), Vice-Admiral Ivan Pena Castillo, told reporters that his intelligence officers had uncovered a plot to murder former Colonel Lidio Nin Terrero. Nin Terrero is currently in custody as part of the case involving Quirino Paulino Castillo and the 1,387 kilograms of cocaine that was seized last year. Pena Castillo said that he thought that the plan was to prevent Nin Terrero from testifying in the case. He said that last Friday Nin Terrero was transferred to the courtroom at the Supreme Court building without adequate security measures. According to the DNCD, constant rumors suggested that there was something underfoot that would result in the killing of Nin Terrero. Pena Castillo said that one of those involved in the plot had been arrested and extradited to the United States quite recently. This person had threatened DNCD officers, and was called a "hired killer" by the vice-admiral. DNCD spokesperson, Buenaventura Bueno Torres confirmed the story for Listin Diario and said that the decision to house Nin Terrero in the special holding cells of the DNCD was due to the strong possibility of an assassination attempt.
One month and 20 days into the much ballyhooed fuel conservation program, nobody can say just how much fuel is being saved. The speed bumps and the scrapped vehicles still clutter many streets, and the engines of the OMSA buses have not yet begun to be exchanged. While billboards and radio and television ads proclaim "Light by light, gallon by gallon, we shall save the nation!," the authorities have yet to say just how much or what has been saved. And even though the President outlined seven key measures during his 11 September speech to the nation, most of these have yet to be implemented. In fact, the sales hours for gasoline stations had to be expanded, and the rules applied to the distributors of GLP (propane) as well. The alternate work days for the "publicos" that service routes in Santo Domingo and Santiago have yielded mixed results after a couple of delays. Some speed bumps were removed, but the resulting potholes are just as big a detriment to swift passage as were the original bumps. According to Listin Diario, few of the government dependencies have succeeded in reducing their fuel consumption by the proposed 20%, and nobody knows when the proposed designated bus lanes will be introduced. The OMSA buses that run on gasoline have yet to be switched to diesel, the stand-by generators to provide electricity for the stop light system have yet to be installed and junk cars being used for public transportation have yet to be removed from service. The people are still waiting for the five million low consumption light bulbs. Reporter Jose Javier says that while the wind energy project in Bani has been announced, there has been no real media campaign to push through the proposed Renewable Energy Bill through Congress. However, the private sector, more through necessity than by desire has imposed its own fuel conservation programs. More careful planning on essential trips to save gasoline, and earlier closing times for some services, such as banks, also produce savings. Gasoline retailers report that the earlier closing times for the sale of fuels is saving 5.0 megawatts of energy. The Dominican banking association, the ABA, said that fuel savings by the commercial banks could reach as much as RD$500 million over the next year.
The Chief of Police, Major General Bernardo Santana Paez, told reporters that he had no evidence that any members of his force are working for private entities. Nonetheless, he did say that hundreds of agents working for private individuals have been identified and located. He added that there are too many police officers in some government offices. El Caribe says that recently, the Minister for the Interior and the Police stated that 45% of all police officers were working for private firms or individuals. The chief was very circumspect as he refrained from mentioning where or to whom the agents were assigned. He did say, though, that during the first phase of the operation to locate and identify agents who were working for private individuals, 200 police personnel were identified. During the second phase another 500 were identified. Santana Paez said that these agents were needed for the Plan for Democratic Security. The Police Chief was interviewed during the St Jude Thaddeus saint's day celebration. St Jude is the police force's patron saint.
The much discussed ITBIS, the Dominican version of Value Added Tax - VAT, if applied at 16% on all goods and services, has the potential to generate RD$62.8 billion pesos for the national treasury. This is the number that appears in the proposed tax reform legislation that President Leonel Fernandez submitted to Congress. It shows that during 2004, a total sales report totaled RD$718,178 billion of which 53% was said to be tax exempt. The report says that these numbers show that the potential tax value of the VAT proposal will "exceed RD$62 billion." Just coffee, cooking oils and sugar will bring in a reported RD$4.0 billion according to the Internal Revenue office. Over the first nine months of the year, VAT taxes have increased by 41%, and brought in over RD$19.2 billion, an increase of RD$5.6 billion more than the same period for 2004. Juan Hernandez, the head of Internal Revenue, said that the increase was largely due to the anti-evasion plan that started in January 2005.
The answer to that question is not really known, according to the government's General Accounting Office. In January 2006, the unit will begin the "Module of Patrimonial Accounting" that will allow the nation, for the first time, to know just what belongs to the government and how much it is worth. GAO director Guaroa Guzman met with reporters from Hoy to outline the planned inventory of the State's properties. Not only will the results identify what is owned, and how much it is worth, it will also determine the properties' locations. Because of the scope of the program, the GAO has signed an agreement with the National Survey that will provide surveyors to locate and measure government lands as well as to establish the values of the different parcels. Government buildings will also be evaluated and inventoried.
The Inter American Human Rights Commission, a branch of the Organization of American States (OAS) will be visiting the Dominican Republic in the next few days to look at the plight of illegal Haitian immigrants. Diplomatic sources told El Nacional that according to rules of basic courtesy the Human Rights Commission is just waiting for the official invitation from the Dominican government, although it does not really need one to carry out its mandate. According to its sources, the paper says that the delegates will travel to the "bateyes" (the settlements where sugar cane workers are housed) in Barahona and the eastern parts of the DR, and will interview religious personnel such as father Pedro Ruquoy. The IAHRC has released several general reports on human rights in the Dominican Republic and has touched on the issue of the Haitian immigrants in each of them. The last such report was issued in 1999. According to El Nacional, the visit comes as a result of a meeting between the commission and representatives of different NGOs involved with human rights issues in the Dominican Republic, and Haitian immigrants in particular. The Dominican Republic is a victim of massive immigration of Haitian indigents who seek jobs given the economic, social and political crisis in Haiti and the reduced border controls in the DR. The massive migration is a major burden on public services in the DR.
The measures suggested by the tax reform package will particularly affect poor single mothers, according to some reports. Because of the large percentage of female-headed homes in the Dominican Republic, a group of women is trying to create a different focus on the tax reform programs. Their suggestion is to tax those who have the most. As reported in Hoy newspaper, the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights (CLADEM) and the Women and Health Collective have joined forces to point out how women, as a group, are put aside during discussions on tax reform. Both organizations feel that any tax reform, as is now proposed, will seriously affect the cooking areas of many Dominican households.
Verizon Dominicana and Baxter are listed among the top 25 of the best companies to work for according to the magazine "American Economy" and the Hewitt Human Resources consults. Companies from Guatemala, Chile, El Salvador, Argentina, Honduras and Venezuela made the list. In the survey, employees showed particular enthusiasm for their companies and said they would be willing to go the extra mile to provide better service, as well as expressing their appreciation for the benefits packages offered. The study showed that Verizon Dominicana employed just five foreign executives, and that the rest of the 3,600 employees were Dominican nationals.
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