During a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday, President Leonel Fernandez said that the United States has decided to aid the Dominican Republic by providing the country with radar equipment and other tools, to be placed on the border with Haiti, aimed at fighting drug, arms and human trafficking. Listin Diario reports that the meeting between the two lasted for about 45 minutes and the Dominican Republic's possible candidacy for the UN Security Council was discussed. The President said that he would consider the Venezuelan government's suggestion that the Dominican Republic could be put forward a candidate for a seat on the United Nation's Security Council, commenting that the United States would not oppose this move. However, the US is likely to continue supporting Guatemala because it could still win the vote, according to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, as reported by Clave Digital. Fernandez explained that Washington could not publicly support the DR because neither of the two original aspirants had withdrawn from the race.
The winner of the seat on the UNSC will represent the region at the United Nations, but some suggest that the benefits of the position go beyond this. A country may use the UN Security Council to settle disputes in their favor. For example Guatemala has an ongoing border dispute with Belize, as has Venezuela with neighboring Guyana. Some believe that both nations could use their position on the Council to find favorable resolutions to their problem. Also, according to a report by JT Nguyen, writing for the Global Policy Forum, the benefits for a developing nation can be financial. Nguyen writes that a "developing country serving on the council expects to receive during its tenure an additional 16 million dollars from the US in foreign aid and 1 million dollars from the UN. The aid may increase in time of crises: 45 million dollars from the US and 8 million dollars from the UN." Nguyen cites a Harvard study when he writes that member countries are "willing to trade their vote for favors: they promote another country's interests in the Security Council in exchange for development aid from a UN agency over which the other country has influence." This has been the tensest volley for the seat since the 1979 contest between Cuba and Colombia, which ran for three months and a total of 155 polls. Mexico was chosen as the compromise candidate. Guyana, Cuba, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago are the only Caribbean nations to sit on the UN Security Council.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/membship/electedmembers/2006/0825votebuying.htm
The new tax reform proposed by the government has generated diverse opinions to the point where even government officials are contradicting themselves. Diario Libre cites the case of Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa, who said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposal to tax interests on deposits and bank transfers and ATM cash withdrawals would not be accepted. Businesspeople and economists consider that the government has to reduce taxes and guarantee greater coverage of collections.
The PRD says it is preparing a front against the reforms, according to Diario Libre. President Leonel Fernandez did not remain quiet on the subject, saying that it is not true that there will be new taxes and has informed that an IMF mission would be visiting the country in order to fully explain the depth and details of the reform. According to El Caribe newspaper, the President says that a tax reform doesn't necessarily mean new taxes and that the reform only looks to strengthen the country in order to avoid a crisis like that of 2003. He says that the reform is aimed at avoiding economic instability and uncertainty.
The Dominican Republic could receive nearly US$500 million in loan disbursements from multi-lateral organizations to support the electricity sector, the reform of the public administration sector and social investment in health and education. US$150 million would be provided by the World Bank (WB), after the government settles a US$46 million debt with electricity generating companies and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signs a letter of agreement in which it expresses that the country's macro-economic situation is under control. The country will also be receiving US$100 million from the Inter-American Development Bank, according to reports in Hoy newspaper. Speaking at the Washington DC headquarters of the World Bank yesterday, President Leonel Fernandez said that the Dominican Republic will do it can to make the necessary reforms so that the country can receive the US$150 million from the WB.
According to a report in Diario Libre, Technical Presidential Minister Temistocles Montas assured the funds for the payment of the debt with the generating companies have already been identified and the IMF letter would be issued within the next week, when its mission currently in the DR completes its work. The official expects that the conditions will be ready for the disbursements to begin in the first half of November. The first two disbursements will be US$50 million each. Montas made these pronouncements after a meeting between President Leonel Fernandez and World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, to analyze the conditions necessary for the loan that was signed in mid-2005.
Hoy newspaper reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is urging the Dominican Republic to get its act together and have the new tax reform and 2007 budget completed by 15 December at the latest. The IMF explained that they would exercise diligence in the matter so that the country could access a US$500 million loan. The DR also has a US$180 million loan pending with the IMF for implementation in 2007. IMF chairman Rodolfo Rato has explained to President Fernandez and his economic team that the IMF would like the laws that would create the news offices of Treasury and Planning, Budget, and Monetary Regulation to be passed by this date. Dominican officials have been willing to make all the compromises necessary to comply with international agreements and treaty, but Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa is quoted in El Caribe newspaper as saying that the country would not accept the IMF's intentions of taxing savings, bank transfers, and the cash withdrawal of money from automated teller machines.
The president of the National Private Business Council (CONEP), Elena Viyella de Paliza, has said that if 50% of the energy placed by distributors on the networks is lost, then 50% of businesspeople are responsible for stealing that energy. Diario Libre reports that the leading business sector representative said that it was time that society as a whole, including the business sector, got involved in finding a solution to the electric crisis and the only way to contribute to this was by paying for the service and stop engaging in fraud.
Diario Libre is reporting that the Santo Domingo East town council has formally agreed to rescind the refuse collection contract given to the Pro-Hygiene and Health Services Company (SEHISA), though the company will continue to clean up trash for the next three months. The council also announced that a public bidding process would begin within 15 days in order to find a company with the technical expertise to take on the job. The problem with the contracts began last week when Mayor Juan de los Santos hastily signed a contract with a sanitation company that had no previous experience of sanitation work, and it was revealed that the contracts were signed with no public bidding. It was later alleged that de los Santos had a stake in the company and that some of his family members worked there.
Diario Libre reports that Director of Migration Carlos Amarante Baret has admitted that there are "clandestine consulates" operating around the country, trying to swindle unsuspecting Dominicans by offering them what they claim are legitimate trips and visas to Europe. Amarante did however point out that the National Police and the State Intelligence Department are working together to try to shut down these fake consulates. The Migration and Trafficking Department president says that there will be a full investigation into the clandestine operations and added that when there is an offer of 200 new jobs in Spain 2,000 or 3,000 people in the DR are victims of exploitation by intermediaries that offer assistance in getting these jobs. The admission comes after it was announced in yesterday's Diario Libre that in the last 10 months alone 786 Dominicans have been repatriated after arriving at Spanish airports with forged documentation.
Dominican Municipal League (LMD) chairman Amable Aristy Castro has voiced his opposition to suggested reforms to the powers of the Dominican Municipal League. Castro says that this is an example of a political witch-hunt. Castro says that the initiative by PLD member Francisco Dominguez Brito is no more than an attack on the LMD and the opposition party. Castro, quoted in Diario Libre, said that the LMD is the only body that is in the hands of the opposition and continued by saying that if the reform of the budget for the LMD goes from 5% to 0.8 percent, as suggested, that it wouldn't be enough to cover the salaries of half the LMD's employees, so it would be better to just do away with the organization as a whole. Dominican Municipality Federation president Fausto Ruiz says that an abolishment of the LMD would lead to a centralization and concentration of resources and powers and it would affect all municipalities because they would then have to go to government for resources.
Police Chief Major General Bernardo Santana Paez has disclosed that since the launch of the measures aimed at reducing crime, known as the Democratic Security Plan, the country has seen a reduction of 564 homicides this year in comparison to 2005, which represents a fall of 23%. He explained that the information is contained in the police statistics summary, which indicates that from August 2004 to July 2005 there were 2,472 murders. During the same period in 2005-2006 there were only 1,908, as reported by Listin Diario.
According to Hoy newspaper, blackouts persist in parts of Santo Domingo and across the country, some lasting as long as 14 hours. The blackouts have created a desperate situation and in some cases even those who have power inverters are victims of this latest wave of blackouts, since inverters are being heavily overworked and are losing charge. Adding to the problem is the ongoing heat. Energy Superintendent Francisco Mendez has announced that many power-generating stations like the one in Monte Rio were still out of service, and that many others would remain out of service because of the delay in the arrival of an oil tanker. Mendez, quoted in Diario Libre, did say however that electricity was back to normal due to the re-entry into service of all of the State Run Electric Companies energy plants, as well as the Cogentrix plant.
Hoy newspaper quotes Central Bank vice-president Clarissa de la Rocha Torres who has come forward with clarifications on the subject of regulating credit card interest rates. De la Rocha said that it is the job of the monetary authorities, and only theirs, to regulate credit cards and their interest rates. The vice-president made her statements in reaction to yesterday's announcement of a possible Congressional reform to the credit card system, which seeks, among other things, to establish a fixed interest rate for all bank-issued credit cards. De la Rocha points out that although Congress can look to reform the system, changes would have to be made to the country's monetary law, governed by the Monetary Council, which according to her can only be reformed by the monetary institutions, which the Congress is not. According to her, article 24 of the monetary law states that all interest rates on monetary transactions, in local or foreign currency, would be determined by the financial institutions.
Several basic foodstuffs have increased in price over the last few weeks, most notably select rice, sugar, milk, cooking oil and pinto beans. Other products which have gone up in price include eggs, toilet paper, seasonings, chicken bouillon cubes and cod, as reported by Diario Libre.
Five armed men dressed in military uniform robbed a branch of Asociacion Popular de Ahorros y Prestamos located on Charles de Gaulle Avenue in Santo Domingo East at noon yesterday, and took an undetermined amount of cash. Their faces were disguised by military camouflage paint. Listin Diario reports that they overpowered the security guards, threatened the clients and forced cashiers to hand over the money, escaping in a blue Mitsubishi Montero 2002 SUV with license plate number G140370, which they abandoned near the intersection of Mella Highway and Charles de Gaulle, and went on to steal another vehicle to continue their flight. Police reported that one of the robbers was caught when he tried to escape on foot through a street in the area, and added that the police are hoping to crack the case in the next few hours. The detainee is being questioned by police investigators and the Justice Department.
Only 400 buses out of a total fleet of 928 assigned to the metropolitan office of bus services (OMSA) are in service in Santo Domingo and Santiago. This represents only 43.1% of the total. Meanwhile, 120 units are in mechanics workshops for repair and 80 are being rebuilt. Another 185 are unusable junk. A further three units are on loan to public institutions, whereas the remaining 70 were withdrawn from inventory due to their advanced state of deterioration, according to a report by Clave newspaper. Because of this situation, OMSA is only covering 18% of the demand for public transportation in the Santo Domingo and Santiago metropolitan zones.
The public consultation for the planned constitutional reform that is being held during the month of November will have a website to offer guidance to the public on the consultation. No URL for the future site has been announced as yet. Diario Libre reports that there will eventually be radio and television programming and a telephone hotline dedicated to discussing the public consultation process.
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