The government has announced that ten Dominican agricultural products will be protected once the DR-CAFTA free trade agreement with the United States and Central America comes into effect. Rice, milk, pork and chicken, beans, corn, onions and garlic are all on the list. Agriculture Minister Salvador Jimenez also informed that these products would remain protected for a period of either 10 or 20 years. Jimenez says that the protection of these products is aimed at mitigating the effects of DR-CAFTA on the Dominican agricultural sector and that all mechanisms for the implementation of the free trade agreement have been carefully considered. Jimenez, speaking to El Caribe newspaper yesterday, did however press for more funds for the nation's agricultural sector, because according to him it is the only direct way of supporting production in the rural areas. Jimenez asked for a budget of RD$9 billion, compared to the current budget of RD$2.5 billion, and reminded the public that according to the World Trade Organization, 6% of state resources should be directed towards agriculture, thus justifying a RD$9 billion budget. Jimenez says that if the sector had more money it would provide the country with a better service. Agriculture contributes RD$96 billion to the country's GDP. Today, the Senate begins to study the revised bills for the implementation of DR-CAFTA, submitted by the President last week.
Venezuela has proposed the Dominican Republic and Bolivia as alternative candidates for a non-permanent seat on the United Nation's Security Council. After 41 rounds of voting, the race between Venezuela and Guatemala is still at a stalemate, with no clear-cut winner in sight. Adding to speculation is a report in yesterday's Listin Diario on the alternative selection process. The article refers to last week's non-scheduled meeting between Dominican President Leonel Fernandez and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. After his meeting with President George W. Bush, Fernandez held a 45-minute meeting with Rice, after which he announced that the United States would not object to the Dominican Republic's selection to run for the UNSC position.
The Dominican Republic has become a full official member of the Central American Parliament (ParlaCen), while Venezuela has become an observer nation. Julio Palacios, who has come to the end of his tenure as ParlaCen president, said that the parliament has received a permanent delegation from the Dominican Republic. ParlaCen was created in 1992 and is made up of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Dominican Republic and Mexico. Puerto Rico, Taiwan and Venezuela have observer status.
The government has reported that of the eight major problems facing the energy crisis, five are rooted in distribution, and that only three are related to power generation or the current energy contracts. Diario Libre reports that this conclusion was reached in a document analyzing the impact of the energy sector on public finance. The document was compiled by the Presidential Technical Minister's Office. The eight problems include: power generation, high dependency on petroleum energy production, poorly structured billing with improper indexation formulas, technical losses due to lack of investment in transmission and distribution, and no bidding for the energy contracts. In addition, the large-scale energy debt, a culture of fraud and theft, and the inability to charge for energy have weakened the energy sector. Diario Libre also reports that in the last three years the subsidies on the energy sector, totaling close to RD$90 billion, have usurped resources that could have been used for education and health. The subsidy, which this year is approaching RD$18 billion, is only paid out to keep the system operating at a deficit. Adding to the energy sector's frustrations is the report that the energy bill for October should have decreased by 3.7%, but it did not, and will stay the same in order to compensate for the accumulated loss of money this year.
A report prepared for the renegotiation of the Madrid Accord that will continue on 8 November stipulates that the energy service in the country will gradually increase all the way through 2012. Listin Diario says that for next year the electricity distributors will pay on average 13.04 US cents to the dollar per KW/h of energy, though lower than the 2006 average of 3.29 cents. In 2008 the price will be 4.19 US cents per KW/h, in 2009 15.27 US cents per KW/h, which represents a 7.6% increase. In 2010 the price will be 16.66 US cents per KW/h, the next year will see an 18-cent increase and by 2012 the energy distributors will have to pay 19.50 US cents per KW/h, equivalent to an 8.3% increase. The report also points out that the deficit, which this year is at US$423 million, will decrease on a yearly basis, though there was no word on whether the cost of electricity to the consumer will also decrease.
Government spokesperson Roberto Rodriguez Marchena has informed the public that the alcohol laws will be repealed, temporarily, for the Christmas holidays, saying that this will bring much joy to the Dominican public. The alcohol laws, which limit the sales of alcoholic beverages to midnight on Sunday through Thursday and 2am on Friday and Saturday, will be repealed between 23 December and 1 January. Rodriguez clarified that the move does not mean that fighting crime is no longer a priority and stressed that the move was only temporary. Quoted in Listin Diario, Pastor Luis Rosario has come out against the decision to repeal the decree, even temporarily, saying that the authorities are doing so at their own risk.
Ex-President Hipolito Mejia has urged President Leonel Fernandez to "tighten belts" and stop the squandering of public funds, considering that by the end of the year government costs will exceed the RD$12 billion budgeted. Mejia says that the fiscal reform is Fernandez and the PLD party's wish, and not an IMF imposition. Mejia says that Fernandez and the IMF have been working on finding new ways to implement a fiscal reform since July, and says that those points are present in the 3rd and 4th revisions of the Stand-by agreement with the IMF. Mejia, quoted in Listin Diario, says that it is the government's responsibility to tighten their belts, seeing that the public and private sectors have already done so.
PRD party secretary general, Orlando Jorge writes today in El Caribe that the PLD government has enjoyed RD$54 billion increase in revenues, product of two tax increases passed by Congress since the start of the Fernandez administration.
Teachers at the UASD have given the university administration until 7 November to resolve the current dispute, and are threatening longer strikes if their demands are not met. Professors met yesterday to discuss the issue and Rector Roberto Reyna asked for a vote of confidence, while students urged for a resolution to avoid missing out on more classes. This report comes one day after it was reported that the UASD University Professors Association (Faprouasd) claimed that they had not reached an agreement with the administration, on the selection of a new health insurance plan, as was reported in many news outlets over the weekend. Faprouasd president Hector Sanchez clarified, in a report published in El Caribe newspaper yesterday, that the association had only been presented with an offer to solve the problem, and that the meeting at which it was presented was not the appropriate time to vote on the offer, since there hadn't been any consultation with their members. El Caribe reports that the UASD public relations office had issued a press release announcing the resolution to the conflict that led to a two-day strike last week. Sanchez said that Faprouasd is willing to continue negotiations, but described the selection of the current medical plan as "abusive and illegal."
Industry and Commerce Minister Francisco Javier Garcia, quoted in El Caribe newspaper, has said that due to a lack of efficiency in the Institute of Price Stabilization (INESPRE), the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will take over responsibilities and try to find the reasons for increasing prices and put a stop to those increases. Garcia said that his department is launching an initiative and would go out on the streets to determine whether business owners are price gouging, increasing prices of goods when they shouldn't be doing so, and said that he is seeking to protect the public from such actions. Garcia also said that he would provide the President with options that will help define INESPRE's role by the end of November. Garcia made this statement while speaking at the formal opening of the Office for the Free Access of Information at the Juan Pablo Duarte building.
Diario Libre reports that as from tomorrow anyone who still hasn't obtained their "marbete" sticker, and wishes to do so, must go directly to the Tax Department's (DGII) offices. The express "marbete" stands set up across the country will cease to operate. Even though drivers were given an extension to get the "marbete" sticker, 15% have failed to obtain it. Some drivers are protesting against the "marbete" rule, saying that it is unfair that after paying 17% of the value of the car in taxes in order to take out the cars first plates, they must now pay for the "marbete". Head of the Motor Vehicles department Alfredo Mirabal said that the taxes on the plates are a registration of the vehicle while the "marbete" is a fee for the right to drive the vehicle.
Last night, the government announced the construction of a housing project for 2,500 families in the Canada de Guajimia, in Santo Domingo West municipality. Hoy newspaper reports that the project will cost US$75 million. A Canadian company, along with the CAASD water authority will be in charge of the project. CAASD director Richard Martinez said that the first 1,000 homes will be handed over by February 2007 and the rest will be handed over by December 2007. Martinez said that road works and plumbing would be installed to improve basic services for people in the municipality.
Eight people accused of illegally laundering drug money through a remittance company in Boston have been sent to jail. Peravinter, which worked through the Puly Envio company was found to have sent over US$100,000 to the Dominican Republic, according to a report in El Caribe newspaper.
The Director of the National Industrial Property Office (ONAPI) Enrique Ramirez announced in Hoy newspaper that they would be awarding the first patent for a Dominican invention in December. The first-ever patented Dominican invention is a vapor shower with special properties, which was built by Donato Padilla with the help of the Dominican Republic Center for Exportation and Investment (CEI-RD) and the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC). Ramirez said that ONAPI would seek to assist Dominican inventors as the country's entry into DR-CAFTA approaches, and that this year ONAPI hopes to launch a project to support national inventors. The event will show inventors how to apply for a patent, as well as how to apply for an industrial design and utility model.
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