One of the most disturbing notes coming from a reading of expenses published by the Dominican Republic Central Bank is the fact that the government's payrolls have increased by 82.35% over the last six years as well as the increasing amount of resources that are transferred to the new municipalities. Economist Rodrigo Jaquez Garcia was the author of the document presented by the Ministry of Technical Affairs Economic Analysis unit. Of 42 items listed in the article in Hoy, less than a dozen show any reduction over the past year. All told, there was nearly a 30% increase in overall spending (29.8%).
The Dominican industrial sector is to hold talks with an International Monetary Fund representative this week in an attempt to demonstrate its belief that the government does not need to increase taxes to fulfill its commitment to the international financial organization. The position taken by the 36 commercial and industrial associations will be presented to Erik Offerdahl, the IMF representative in the DR. According to Listin Diario, the government experts still do not have the list of new taxes ready for study. The paper says that in just one sector, alcoholic beverages, seven scenarios have been prepared. The paper also says that the best-kept secret is just how President Fernandez will treat the Income Tax. Some are speculating that the minimum salary subject to the tax will be lowered to RD$18,000 per month.
The Senate finance committee has rejected the idea of approving a US$90 million loan to finance the electro-mechanical aspects of the Santo Domingo Metro System. At least, not in 2006. Senator Tommy Galan, PLD-San Cristobal, reminded Senators of a note from Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa that requested all financing to be postponed until 2007. Galan also reminded the Senators that they had just postponed a US$37 million loan package intended to finance housing units for low-income families.
The new Central Electoral Board (JCE) has announced that it plans to lower current charges for emitting birth, death and marriage certificates. Robert Rosario, the newly named head of the administrative branch of the Board announced the magistrates' decision to submit the plan for reduced costs to the entire board. Some documents will be free and others will cost 50% less, according to Rosario. In an effort to cut down on corruption, Rosario also revealed that he will propose fixed salaries of between RD$25,000 and RD$60,000 per month for the 161 magistrates who control the civil registry offices around the country.
Passers-by were startled to see what looked like snow covering large areas around the lake in the new park that is being built on the corner of Gustavo Mejia Ricart and Nunez de Caceres Avenues. Listin Diario carries a front-page photo of the scene. However, this was not a freak weather phenomenon, but rather a chemical product used to ease drilling of wells in the area. The white foam covered roadways and the entire area of the lake, and vehicles seemed to be plowing through snowdrifts.
The Dominican government, through the Corporation of State-owned Hotels (Corphotels) is renting out several interesting hotel properties at some very good prices. A document from Corphotels shows that the Hotel Marien in Santiago Rodriguez is paying RD$4,000 per month in rent. The Flor Ambar Gift Shop pays RD$5,000 per month and the Hotel Guarocuya in Barahona pays RD$12,000 per month. Other properties, such as the Hotel Jimani pay a bit more, RD$19,000, and the Maguana in San Juan de la Maguana pays RD$20,000 and the Matum in Santiago pays RD$50,000. Two of the most famous hotels in the Dominican Republic, the Hotel Jaragua and the Cayacoa/Cayo Levantado complex in Samana are paying RD$1.2 million and RD$240,624 each. However, the Casino at the Hotel Jaragua also pays an additional RD$495,000 per month. Other properties in Mao, Jarabacoa, Constanza, San Jose de las Matas as well as Santo Domingo are also under Corphotels' administration. According to El Caribe, the report does not include all the details of rental payments.
Armed Forces Minister, Rear Admiral Hector Lizardo Jorge has warned that the legislative initiative calling for an extension of the nation's territorial waters to twelve miles would create a series of difficulties with several nations. According to the Admiral, while the twelve-mile limit is common in many countries, such a position could cause irritation for the Dominican Republic. One of the Caicos Islands would fall within Dominican jurisdiction, and the United States, the United Kingdom, Haiti, Venezuela and Colombia would also become involved. The project's author, deputy Pelegrin Castillo, dismissed any idea that such a territorial extension would cause problems. One of the Admiral's points was that since both the Silver Banks and the Navidad Banks are within Dominican territorial waters, a 12-mile extension would cause the Turks and Caicos Islands to fall within Dominican territory. Castillo said that while it is true that limits with Haiti, the Netherlands, the United States, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom do need to be set, the limits with Colombia and Venezuela have been settled since 1978 and 1979.
The Dominican Foreign Ministry has issued a formal complaint re United States Ambassador Hans Hertell's remarks about Haitians in the Dominican Republic as "unacceptable". The Ministry of Foreign Relations said that Hertell was getting involved in "things that are the sovereign dominion of the Dominican state." In a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic (AmCham) last Wednesday, Hertell touched on the question of Haitian immigration to the Dominican Republic. He said that the issuing of birth certificates to children of illegal Haitian immigrants was "an administrative issue", and this position was firmly rejected by Carlos Morales Troncoso, the DR's Foreign Minister, who said that the Supreme Court of Justice had already ruled on the matter.
The latest poll taken by the Gallup-Hoy group shows that 72% of the Dominican public thinks that the economy is in "bad" shape. When polled in mid-August, the same figure was 63%. Curiously, when asked by the interviewers about their personal finances, 54% said that they were either "bad" or "very bad", and this is a slight improvement from the 56% from August. The poll also reflects poorly on just how the country is doing, with 65.8% saying that things are going poorly, representing a significant 14.5% increase over August's numbers. Furthermore, only one in four Dominicans (26.7%) feels that things will get better over the next two years. Over a third of the people interviewed said that they thought that there was more corruption now than in previous governments. In August, 54.4% said that there was less corruption in this government than during the Mejia administration. In the latest poll this number dropped to 34.1% of those questioned.
The same Gallup-Hoy poll shows that Dominican citizens would like the government to concentrate on health (60%) and education (51%). Next comes help for the poor. Electricity, potable water, jobs, housing, roads, sports, and security are next on the list of what they think should be the government's priorities. When asked to list the country's main problems, those polled cited inflation or the high cost of living (68%), blackouts or lack of energy (65%), unemployment (43%), robberies and crime (37%), lack of potable water (20%), drug trafficking (13%), education (11%) and administrative corruption (7%). Other problems mentioned include the deterioration of public services, loss of moral values, internal and external debt, lack of investment in farming, inadequacy of public transportation and lack of leadership. Regarding corruption, 36.7% said there was more corruption, up from 20.6% in August, 26.8% said corruption levels were the same, up from 22.3% in August. While 54.4% of those polled in August thought there was less corruption in government, now only 34.1% of respondents believe this to be the case.
Santo Domingo District Attorney Juan M. Hernandez has revealed that as many as 170 convicted criminals are walking the streets of the Dominican Republic. According to El Caribe, these are dangerous criminals who have not been placed in custody. The DA made his statement during a television interview on the Channel 37 program Pantalla Abierta. According to Hernandez, the criminals were convicted before the new Penal Code went into effect. In fact, he told his interviewers that 5,000 files were still in process under the old code, but he also said that these would be settled before the ten-year period lapses.
The famous Figuereo sextuplets, the first born in the Dominican Republic, are coming up to their first birthday. The parents, Maxima and Emilio, are planning a big birthday party for them on 26 December. The kids are consuming 48 cans of powdered milk each month. Two of the babies, Paola and Manuel Emilio weigh 19 and 23 pounds and Emily Marie is the smallest at 14 pounds. The ministries of education and public health are still helping the family, which has become a major attraction in their neighborhood, El Morro in Villa Mella.
Tune in to Telemicro, Channel 5, to watch the finals of the Viva el Merengue contest at 9 pm. Produced by Jatnna Tavarez, the televised event has been successful in reviving interest in merengue, that has been displaced by bachata and reggaeton. The contest seeks to discover new merengue stars. The winner will be chosen from Tony Fox, Berenice Perez and Elsa Negco. The winner gets RD$200,000 in cash, and a contract with Premium Latin Music for the production of a CD.
For more events, see http://www.dr1.com/calendar
The Gigantes from San Francisco de Macoris enjoyed a spectacular weekend, going 2-0 and climbing into first place in the Dominican Winter League. The Gigantes beat the Azucareros from La Romana on Friday night, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Eric Almonte in the bottom of the ninth inning. On Satuday, they were rained out, and on Sunday they again defeated the Azucareros by one run, 2-1. The Aguilas Cibaenas also enjoyed a good weekend, going 2 -0 by beating the Tigres del Licey, first in Santo Domingo and then in Santiago. These wins extend to six the winning streak against last year's champions. The Saturday game with the Gigantes was rained out and will be played tonight. The Tigres del Licey went 1-2 over the weekend, losing home and away to the Aguilas and then defeating the hapless Leones de Escogido 6-5 in ten innings. The Estrellas Orientales, from San Pedro de Macoris, defeated the Leones de Escogido 3-2 on Friday with a ninth inning hit by Tomas de la Rosa to leave the Leones alone on the playing field. They lost a tight game 8-7 to the Azucareros on Saturday and then beat the Leones once again on Sunday, 6-5.
Standings
| Team | W-L | Avg. | Games Behind |
| Gigantes | 20 - 11 | .645 | -- |
| Licey | 19 - 12 | .613 | 1.0 |
| Aguilas | 18 - 13 | .581 | 2.0 |
| Estrellas | 15 - 16 | .484 | 5.0 |
| Escogido | 11 - 21 | .344 | 9.5 |
| Azucareros | 11 - 21 | .344 | 9.5 |
* Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo 7:35
Estrellas vs. Licey
* Estadio Julian Javier, San Francisco de Macoris 7:35
Aguilas vs. Gigantes
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