As part of a two-day trip to Washington next week, President Leonel Fernandez will meet with representatives from the IMF, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. The President will also meet with representatives from the Inter-American Dialogue, an organization that discusses topics concerning the Western Hemisphere. He will then meet with American President George W. Bush. Fernandez leaves the DR on a private flight to Washington on Tuesday, 24 October.
President Leonel Fernandez met with senators, deputies, and allies from the PLD party last night, and outlined his new set of reforms. Fernandez said that the constitutional reform would be the basis for a series of transformations that seek the creation of a modern, efficient and reliable state. He said that he aspires to a truly democratic revolution that will grant more decision-making power to the Dominican people. The President explained the need to modify the way in which territories are organized, because as he sees it, the creation of new provinces, municipalities, and municipal districts needs to be halted. The President is also proposing that within the constitutional reform and electoral law, the number of political positions needs to be limited, because according to him, the number of politicians cannot grow indefinitely as the population grows.
In addition to the constitutional reform, the government is working on the creation of several codes dealing with communications, culture, tourism and transport.
According to a poll by Clave weekly newspaper, 53% of readers agree with the need to reform the constitution in the present situation. 44% believe it is not necessary and 3% said they did not know.
The process of public consultation for the constitutional reform requires more preparation and recruitment of citizens than originally foreseen by the government and the support commissions that are providing assistance. According to the results of the last planning meetings, municipal consultations should begin on Monday, 23 October in La Romana, according to the president of the National Council for the Reform of the State (CONARE), Marcos Villaman. Clave reports that preparations involve workshops with facilitators, a phase that ended this week, and each activist needs to establish prior contact with representatives of political, business, social and community organizations in each location.
It has been announced that a meeting sponsored by Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado will take place in the Presidential Palace on Monday to discuss details of the constitutional reform and the selection process for the Central Electoral Board (JCE) judges. President Leonel Fernandez, key members of the PRSC and the PRD will meet to discuss, according to the Monsignor, "topics of national interest." Collado is quoted in Diario Libre as saying that the political parties have been very receptive to the meeting, and although no names have been announced as to who will attend, it is expected that many top figures from both parties will be present. Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez made it clear yesterday that regardless of Monday's meeting, the Senate will continue in its selection process of the judges for the Central Electoral Board (JCE) in the same way, and their opinions on the process for choosing the judges would not be affected.
A mild tremor was recorded yesterday, according to the Seismological Institute at the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). The quake registered 4.1 on the Richter scale and was felt in areas of Samana, El Seibo, Hato Mayor and La Romana. According to Nelson Ramirez, who interpreted the seismic readings, the epicenter was about 140 kilometers underwater, between the DR and Puerto Rico. No aftershocks were reported.
The report coincides with the results of a study by Santo Domingo's INTEC University that found that several public buildings around the country would not be able to withstand strong winds or earthquakes. Engineer Leonardo Reyes Madera said that these included the fire department buildings in Santiago and Santo Domingo, the Cabral & Baez hospital in Santiago and the Santa Ana of Gualey Polytechnic Institute. Reyes is calling for these and other buildings to be reinforced in order to avoid bigger problems in the future.
The European Union's economic aid for the Dominican Republic has reached EUR536 million since 1990. Listin Diario reports that the resources have been applied to local projects in the framework of the Lome Convention, now called the Cotonou Agreement. The information was provided by Dino Sinigallia, European Union Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, who specified that the Cotonou Agreement is very democratic, as it does not tell member countries where their governments have to spend the resources. In this country, the EU works with the Dominican government through the National Office of European Development Funds (ONFED).
Finance Minister Vincent Bengoa is asking Congress not to approve any more loans for the rest of this year. Bengoa's plea was made so that the country could comply with requirements for the country's Stand-by agreement with the IMF. He urged Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez and Chamber of Deputies president Julio Cesar Valentin to abide with his request. Bengoa, quoted in El Caribe, says that the limit, in order to stay in line with the IMF agreement, is U$150 million for 2006, though he did say that loans have been canceled even after being approved by the Senate. This year the government will pay out RD$45 billion in debt repayments, and will also have to shell out an estimated RD$65 billion to repay international debts in 2007.
Hoy newspaper reports that debt makes up 18% of the country's GDP and that this year they will be assigning RD$3.4 billion to cover the quasi-fiscal deficit.
The Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (FINJUS) has asked to see contract documents from the Pro-Hygiene and Health Services Company (SEHISA) that was awarded the contract for refuse collections in eastern Santo Domingo. According to Diario Libre, at least two of mayor Juan de los Santos' family members are either shareholders or employees in the company and it is said that only three councilmen were against SEHISA receiving those contracts. Diario Libre says that there was also no proper bidding for the trash collection contracts, and the paper is quoting a source form the betting chain "Juancito Sport", owned by de los Santos, which said that up until very recently the president of SEHISA worked in the accounting department of one of de los Santos' companies. Speaking for FINJUS, Julio Cesar de la Rosa said that because of his actions, de los Santos could be brought to trial on corruption charges. De los Santos defended himself by saying that he had no choice in the matter since he was looking for a quick solution to the problem. He is quoted in El Caribe as saying that he was also not given the full 100 days to find a proper resolution, as has been the case with other projects.
Adding to the controversy is an interesting point made by Diario Libre's "page 2" writer, Homero Figueroa when he says in his column that the contractors don't even have any expertise in garbage disposal and hygiene, aside from the daily showers they take. Figueroa clarifies that yes, corrupt politics are always bad, but contracting a company that doesn't have any experience in garbage disposal, on top of the corrupt politics is even worse, and that a desperate situation is not an excuse for a desperate solution.
One of the biggest problems plaguing the energy sector is the lack of infrastructure needed to resolve the problem, and according to a report in Diario Libre the Madrid Accord only contribute to the continued energy crisis. The newspaper reports that the Madrid Accords call for the buying and selling of 1,290MW of energy from the companies EdeNorte, EdeSur and EdeEste. Of those 1,290MW, EGE-Haina and EGE-Itabo have contracts to sell 350MW and 300MW. However, both Haina and Itabo have the resources to provide those quantities from their own energy plants, but instead what they do is buy energy on the spot market for a cheaper price. This allows both companies to continue making profits without investing in infrastructure. They keep energy generators switched off, sell cheap energy, and still find a way to avoid breaking the country's energy laws. The irony of the situation is that most of the energy bought on the spot market is produced by the State Run Electric Companies (CDEEE), and since the energy distributors have been late with their payments, it creates losses and accumulated debt for the government. CDEEE vice president Radhames Segura is quoted in Hoy newspaper as saying that the Madrid Accords were a bad business move by the government because since the signing the energy companies have benefited and grown substantially. Segura also denounced the way in which other companies are taking advantage of the situation and commented on their "irregular involvement" in the energy market. He said that aside from looking to lower prices with the renegotiations of the Accords, the government is seeking to clean out the wholesaler from the market.
The Dominican Association of Free Zones (Adozona) president, Luis Manuel Pellerano favors the bill for tax exemption for national industry that was sent to Congress last Wednesday by the Executive Branch, because it extends tax benefits that apply to free zones to other sectors that operate in the DR. The government's proposal seeks to exclude the cotton industry, fibers, textiles, accessories, leather and shoes throughout the country from the payment of value added tax (ITBIS), income tax (ISR) and customs tariffs, according to a report in Listin Diario.
The bridge above the Camu River connecting Cotui and Pimentel, which collapsed on Wednesday, is to be rebuilt. The plan to rebuild the bridge was announced by Minister of Public Works Freddy Perez. Perez said that once he found out about the bridge's collapse, he sent technicians and a team to survey the area. The Minister did however ask the public to be patient with the rebuilding process since the bridge is not in the office's budget and he will have to request the necessary funds, which could take a while. The bridge collapsed on Wednesday when a big rig drove over it. In the meantime, drivers are having to take an alternative route via San Francisco de Macoris.
There is still no word on what caused last week's helicopter crash in Puerto Plata that killed two army officials and two private investors, including Howard "Butch" Kerzner. Listin Diario reports that there is still no concrete information on the possible causes of the crash, and although investigators are working together with officials from the company that built the helicopter, no significant discoveries have been made. Civil Aeronautics Department spokesperson Angel de la Rosa said that these types of investigations need time, and that the release of unsubstantiated information needs to be avoided until the real evidence comes out. The Dominican Air Force is not involved in the investigations, and they have not been asked to help. Air Force public relations said that they made a sweep of the crash site on the first day, and have not intervened since.
A report in Listin Diario says that in an effort to lower the crime rate in Santo Domingo, teenagers have been encouraged to hand over their weapons in exchange for electrical equipment, sporting goods and food. Teens in the Espaillat neighborhood handed over guns, "liver cutters" and other types of illegal homemade weaponry that they carry illegally. The event was sponsored by the Todos Unidos foundation, which is headed by Dinamarca Reynoso de Pastrano. The exchanges were conducted with the help of Father Alejandro Cabrera before the police could have an opportunity to arrest those exchanging their weapons, or take retaliatory action.
The Shriners Hospital for Children from Springfield, Massachusetts, will hold an orthopedics outreach clinic in Santo Domingo on 28 - 29 October at the Centro de Medicina Avanzada y Telemedicina (CEDIMAT) where more than 250 children, mostly from low-income families, will be assessed for treatment or surgery in the United States. The Shriners hold two similar clinics in Santo Domingo for children with orthopedic problems, in addition to two follow-up prosthetics clinics and one burns clinic every year. A team of 23 doctors, nurses, administrative staff and social workers will be providing free services to the patients' families. Over 3,000 Dominican children have benefited from the Shriners program, which has been active in this country since 1979. Children under 18 with orthopedic problems, burns or spinal cord injuries should be referred to the local Shrine Club (shrinersdr@gmail.com) for evaluation and possible inclusion in future clinics. Children with recent acute burns may also be referred for immediate treatment in Boston.
Grupo Leon Jimenes has awarded the Eduardo Leon Jimenes Art Award to Santo Domingo-based artist Raquel Paiewonsky, who is originally from Puerto Plata. She received a certificate and a RD$300,000 prize for her six-piece digital photographic work, "Untitled". Runners up were Joan Alberdy Padilla, for his film work titled "Neoveronica," Jorge Luis Pineda Perez, for a piece called "Afro", and sculptor Marco Giuseppe Riggio for "Fenotipo". Each runner up received a cash prize of RD$200,000. Artists Ines Tolentino and Fernando Varela were also awarded prizes for their efforts.
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