President Leonel Fernandez will again address the nation about the forthcoming tax "correction" that has been opposed by a majority of the people. According to El Caribe, after the speech the President will send his proposals for the tax reform and the 2007 Budget to the Congress where his party has control of both houses. The announcement of the President's upcoming speech was made by Francis Vargas, spokesperson for the PLD block of senators and their political allies, after coming out of a meeting with the Minister for Technical Affairs, Temistocles Montas. No date has yet been given.
Council for Private Business (CONEP) spokesperson Elena Viyella de Paliza has told reporters that the IMF informed the association that it was "too busy this week" to receive the proposals from 36 industrial and commercial associations in reaction to the Presidential plans for further tax reforms. CONEP emphasized that it is against any more taxes. The brief note from CONEP said "it appears that the IMF has other urgent issues, since it (IMF) told us (CONEP) that it did not have time to meet with the business sector this week." Observers are saying that this is the first time that so many associations from all sides of the commercial sector have joined forces to resist a government proposal.
Dominican police chief Bernardo Santana Paez has announced a plan to give baby chicks to kids who turn in their toy weapons. According to the chief, the idea is to involve the children of six of the capital's poorest neighborhoods and "teach them the value of life". The plan is to extend the program to other areas of the country over time. The whole program falls under the aegis of the Democratic Security Plan and is a new example of preventative police work. The first barrios taking part in the program will be Los Guandules, La Cienaga, Guachupita, 27 de Febrero, Gualey and Ensanche Espaillat. Santana Paez told reporters from El Caribe that the program is based on a similar one in Colombia and other countries.
The Senate of the Dominican Republic has approved the legislation to modify the law on government contracts for goods and services after two readings. This bill had come from the Chamber of Deputies with some modifications that needed to be voted on. The bill is aimed at ensuring transparency in public bids for goods and services. The Senate also approved the legislation that would provide for a law on the right to obtain varieties of vegetables. This project was promoted by former Agriculture Minister Amilcar Romero. The proposed law is designed to protect the rights of producers who obtain certain new varieties of vegetables. Another important step taken by the upper house was the approval of the creation of the Ministry of "Hacienda" or Treasury. The new ministry will be responsible for establishing fiscal policy, including tax policy, budgets and internal and external financing.
A group of 14 law school deans will hand President Fernandez a list of proposed changes that will affect the justice system from top to bottom. Among the proposals is a move to create a body of magistrates that will oversee the entire justice system in the Dominican Republic. The new entity would be composed of 17 magistrates, headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court (SCJ), judges of different courts, five prestigious lawyers and a representative of the Senate and another from the bar association. Another proposal is to increase the size of the court to 17 magistrates, with 12 career magistrates who would serve for 12 years or until they reach 75 years of age. The chief justice and the assistant chief justice would be elected by the National Council of Justice and serve for two-year terms. These and other changes will be handed to the President on 6 December.
Carlos Michelen, an ambassador attached to the Dominican Foreign Ministry's Oceanography Department, has said that claims that the proposed law would create conflicts with neighboring nations were nonsense. On Monday, former Armed Forces Minister, Vice-Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez said that if the Dominican Republic were to become an "archipelago state", it would create conflicts with Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia, the United States and Great Britain. Ambassador Michelen remarked that it was illogical that resistance to the legislation should come from inside the country when there has been no opposition from any foreign entity. Michelen said that the Dominican frontier should conform to the standards set by the Convention on the Seas and the United Nations.
For what it's worth, the latest Gallup-Hoy poll has revealed that the current favorites for the 2008 Presidential elections are Miguel Vargas Maldonado for the PRD with 40% (Milagros Ortiz Bosch 26.3%), Eduardo Estrella for the PRSC with 46.3% (Amable Aristy 19.4%, Luis Toral 8.2%) and current President Leonel Fernandez for the PLD with 35% (Danilo Medina 22%, Jaime David Fernandez 14.5%). None of the minor parties were included in the survey. Fernandez has a 14-point lead over his closest rival, Danilo Medina. Vargas Maldonado enjoys a 13-point lead over former VP Milagros Ortiz Bosch and Eduardo Estrella has a 28-point lead over his rival for the candidacy, Amable Aristy Castro. Political parties have yet to hold their primaries, or internal elections, to choose their presidential candidates for the 16 May 2008 election.
While United States ambassador Hans Hertell was blasted by everyone from the Foreign Minister to the man in the street for his comments about the documentation of the children of illegal Haitian immigrants, it's worth pointing out that, much like the Monroe Doctrine, this was just one comment among many made by the departing diplomat. In fact, according to El Caribe, the diplomat referred to many "encouraging solutions" during his five-year stint in the country. Hertell mentioned the successful collaboration with the IMF that resulted in the stabilization of the monetary system and the series of tax reforms that he called "indispensable." The ambassador also praised the passage of the new Penal Code and the laws to criminalize human trafficking. Regarding the justice system, the diplomat had high praise for the series of courses and the new selection process for magistrates throughout the system, as well as the prosecution of the banking fraud that created the 2003-2004 financial crises. Of course, the passage of the necessary legislation for the DR-CAFTA treaty was especially dear to the US emissary. On the subject of his own relationship with the Dominican Republic, Hertell, who is from Puerto Rico, said that he expected to remain close to the nation and its people.
At least 31% of the Dominican Republic's total power generating capacity is currently out of action due to high operating costs. This is a total of 837 megawatts of power. Much of the problem lies in the fact that these plants operate on diesel fuel, which is the most expensive fuel for large-scale energy production. As such, it costs generating stations as much as US$0.20 per kilowatt/hour, and this does not include any profit or transmission costs. The only facility that is currently producing electricity with this fuel is the COGENTRIX station in San Pedro de Macoris, which provides 100MW as an independent power provider (IPP), and has a constant deficit with the CDEEE. Haina is also in service because the CDEEE is providing it with an additional US$10 million in subsidies. According to Listin Diario, the situation developed during the first Fernandez administration when the government invested US$120 million in power generation. Six units were purchased from Siemens without public bidding. Only the unit at Haina, which can produce 100MW, is currently in operation.
Last night representatives of Verizon Dominicana and the Department of Taxes met with President Fernandez to iron out some sort of an agreement on the taxes to be paid on the sale of Verizon Dominicana to the Mexican company America Movil. The tax, basically a capital gains tax, is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $500 million, a sum that Verizon says is unacceptable. After the meeting, Verizon's lawyer Fabiola Medina told Listin Diario reporters that progress had been made but that no deal had yet been struck. The tax disputes court that is hearing the case has announced the next hearing for 4 December.
The fire at the Jazzy nightclub in Santo Domingo earlier this week claimed the lives of nine people. The police have reported the arrest of the night watchman who reportedly refused entry to neighbors who were trying to help the people trapped inside, and the club's administrator, but his name was not revealed. Police spokesman, Simon Diaz, said that the police explosives unit was investigating the incident, which is believed to have been caused by a short circuit.
Many DR1 readers will be pleased to see that tickets for the 19 December concert by Colombian pop star Shakira will be available at a 10% discount today and tomorrow. However, there is a caveat: you must be a Verizon client in order to purchase the tickets, and there is a maximum of four tickets per person. Tickets are available at the Acropolis Center in Santo Domingo, the Torre de Cristal in Santiago and the Verizon office in Santiago. The concert tour, called "Fijacion Oral" (Oral Fixation) is part of Verizon's Christmas presents for its clients.
Boston Red Sox superstar David Ortiz, also known as Big Papi, turns on his computer every day to read the local papers, even when he is playing baseball in the United States. One day he saw a report about Dominican children who were dying from hydrocephaly problems and needed valves to live. He decided to do something about it. Naturally, it has to do with sports. He will put on a softball game that will include Dominican baseball stars, and stars from other athletic areas as well as entertainment personalities. Fans will get to see Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols up close and personal. The game will be held on 30 December in the Quisqueya Baseball Park in Santo Domingo. Get out your wallets and get ready to play ball!
Major league stars visited the offices of the Minister of the Armed Forces, Lt. General Ramon Aquino Garcia. Ramon Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero, Octavio Dotel and Francisco Cordero received presents from the General and they talked about baseball and posed for photographers.
The game between the Aguilas Cibaenas and the Leones de Escogido was rained out. However, Dennis Tankersley threw five shutout innings for the Tigres del Licey and last year's champions stopped a slide and the lowly Azucareros from La Romana 2-1. In last night's other game, the league-leading Gigantes del Cibao from San Francisco de Macoris, extended their winning streak to ten games, by defeating the the Estrellas Orientales from San Pedro de Macoris, 8-7.
The rained out game will be played on 4 December.
Standings
| Team | W-L | Avg. | Games Behind |
| Gigantes | 21 - 11 | .656 | -- |
| Licey | 20 - 13 | .606 | 1.5 |
| Aguilas | 18 - 13 | .581 | 2.5 |
| Estrellas | 16 - 17 | .485 | 5.5 |
| Escogido | 11 - 21 | .344 | 10.0 |
| Azucareros | 11 - 21 | .333 | 10.5 |
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