| Daily News - Wednesday, 06 December 2006 |
President Leonel Fernandez enacted the law for the Petition of Protection yesterday. This new law is designed to extend people's legal recourses against any attack on their basic rights. The new law, 437-06, says that "every person has the right to simple recourse known as a Petition of Protection." The first article of the law says that any person shall have access to such a petition in the face of any act, whether of commission or omission, on the part of any public authority or any individual, "that in real or imminent manner and with either arbitrary or illegal manner manifests, injures, restricts, alters or threatens the rights and guarantees explicitly or implicitly recognized by the Constitution regarding personal freedom that is under the protection of Habeas Corpus." President Fernandez said that the guarantee of basic human rights is one of the hallmarks of all organized societies.
All today's newspapers carry headlines about just what the President's new tax proposals are going to affect. El Caribe reports on the RD$5 tax on fuels and the fact that the PRD and PRSC parties continue to reject the proposals. The paper also reports that the CNTU transport companies union and the gasoline retailers association (ANADEGAS) "condemned" the new tax on fuels because of the important role that fuel plays in everyday life. Diario Libre says that the new taxes will affect many products and people's purchasing habits. The paper emphasizes the higher import tax on vehicles, higher registration fees and a new tax, called the "tax on circulating", all of which will affect most Dominicans' daily lives. Listin Diario also reports on the vehicular taxes as well as the additional ad valorum tax on fuel imports, which goes from the current 13% up to 16%. Hoy newspaper focuses on the new fuel taxes, and mentions the new taxes on lottery winnings, alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. Diario Libre goes on to report that the new proposals will limit the new legislators to just one tax-free vehicle, as well as prohibiting the use of official vehicles on weekends and holidays.
What was not taxed is as interesting as what was proposed for taxation.
While the original government proposal would have taxed sugar, coffee, cocoa, cooking oils, yogurt and butter, the President did not apply VAT to these products. Several times during his speech, the President said "as was agreed with the business community", and, as a result, income tax will be gradually reduced each year as per last year's agreement. The President also appears to have listened to the hotel and tourism sector and did not apply a 5% room tax, but the sector will be affected by the tax on alcoholic beverages. Finally, the ideas to apply the 16% VAT rate to the cargo haulage sector and double the 1% tax on luxury dwellings were discarded.
The Dominican Republic Industrial Association (AIRD) has expressed its approval for the general tone of President Fernandez's mix of government spending cuts and increased taxes to balance its budget, while reiterating its belief that the government must increase its austerity efforts. According to Listin Diario, the AIRD and the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and Production agree that a lot of thought appeared to have gone into the President's speech. What the AIRD considered lacking was the need to clarify where the resources generated by the new taxes would be spent. The associations also want to see improved prioritization and efficiency in spending. Ricardo Fondeur, the president of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce, said that this was a good time to redefine the sources from which the government is looking to obtain this new money. According to Fondeur, this would guarantee greater stability of the macro-economic issues that President Fernandez emphasized in his speech. Both entities praised the President for respecting the agreements that were reached last year.
As part of the Presidential plan to reduce public spending, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) will eliminate 1,000 jobs, equivalent to a RD$12 million reduction in its monthly payroll. The announcement was made yesterday by the chief magistrate of the JCE's Administrative Chamber, Roberto Rosario. Rosario also revealed that the JCE was running on a RD$22 million deficit. According to the magistrate, the JCE had budgeted RD$76 million in income from June to the present, but expenditure has totaled RD$98.74 million. The decision comes on the heels of the approval of hundreds of thousands of pesos in monthly pensions for the eight outgoing judges.
A report by the World Bank's Caribbean Management Unit and the Ministry for Technical Affairs has recommended introducing some changes in both the tourism and free zone sectors. According to the report, while the linkages between the sectors were important, such as tourism and the construction industry or the free zones and the transport sector, in general, it is the investors who reap the greatest benefits. Regarding the free zones, the report, which is quoted by Listin Diario says that while it is true that many thousands of jobs were created, and these jobs provide employment for unskilled women who might otherwise been excluded from the workforce, the economic impact would have been greater if a larger investment had been made in technology and a trained workforce, and if production had centered on products with a higher added value.
Regarding tourism, the report says that the current model of all-inclusive resorts, which it describes as "enclaves", limits any interaction between tourists and the rest of the economy. The report warns that the future competitiveness of the tourism sector will face several challenges to the specialization of low-cost tourism, which is vulnerable to outside shocks such as the exchange rate or competition from newly popular destinations. The report emphasizes the need for a better trained workforce and a structural change towards higher valued products.
Using data from a 2006 UNDP study, the Catholic University of Santo Domingo reported that about 1.8 million Dominicans do not have access to potable water. This means that 465,000 families do not have mains water supplies in their houses. The study is part of the "World Report on Human Development 2006" by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). According to the data, there is a direct correlation between access to potable water and infant mortality. The study also shows that provinces with the lowest percentage of housing with indoor sanitary facilities also had the highest rates of infant mortality. The provinces are Bahoruco, Monte Plata, San Juan de la Maguana, Azua and Barahona. Commenting on the findings, the Dean of the Engineering Department at the INTEC (Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo), Indhira de Jesus, said that the study showed that the issues of access to water and sanitation services affect the poorest homes.
In the Dominican Republic, the proportion of overweight and obese people in the general population has reached 46%, while for children the figure is just 13.8%. At a conference at the National Evangelical University (UNEV), endocrinologist Dr. Socrates Manon reported the results of a study carried out in 2000. Dr. Manon cited data from several other national and international studies during his talk on "Healthy Eating". According to a study done by the National Center for Research on Maternal and Child Health (CENISMI), one in three children from middle and upper class homes is overweight or obese. In contrast, children between the ages of six and nine from low-income homes report a high index of poor nutrition. Dr. Manon argued for including Nutritional Education as part of the public and private school curriculum as part of the effort to combat what he calls "an epidemic" of overweight people.
On the eve of the start of DR-CAFTA, Centro Cuesta Nacional announces it is allying itself with Topco Associates that groups more than 60 supermarket chains and 4,000 stores in the US. Cuesta becomes the first Latin American member-owner of the group. CNN explains that it will be introducing seven new brands (Valu Time, Top Care, Paws Professional, Paws Premium, Food Club, Full Circle, World Classics) and a range of more than 1,100 new products to the Dominican market. Likewise, it opens doors for Dominican products to benefit from the 60 supermarket channels of the company.
Topco Associates LLC provides procurement, quality assurance, packaging, and other services exclusively for its member-owners that include supermarket retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice companies. Topco serves as a vehicle to leverage its members' collective volume to drive down product costs and to obtain economies of scale in support areas enabling its members to effectively compete against national companies. Topco members purchase a variety of products and services through the cooperative including corporate and national brands, perishables, equipment, supplies, and business services. A privately held cooperative, Topco has no conflicting profit motive because it distributes all earnings back to its member-owners based on each member's level of participation.
The police handed the Justice Department the files on a group of people who are said to have bilked 260 people of EUR2,500 each for travel to Europe. The gang, headed by Santo Valdez Cuello, a deportee who served 14 years in jail in the United States on murder charges, also included Michael Alcantara Ruben, Dionisio Santana Arache, Florian Febles Martinez and Severino Diaz Rodriguez. According to information supplied by the police, the gang was arrested by Central Investigation Division officers. The gang used a romantic relationship with an administrative assistant at the Prosecutor's Office in San Cristobal and another friend to recruit the travelers. The 260 would-be travelers were left stranded at Las Americas International Airport earlier this year.
Last night the Azucareros from La Romana ended their six-game losing streak at the expense of the Leones del Escogido whose losing streak is now up to 16 games. The Azucareros won 9-1. In Santo Domingo, the Tigres del Licey won their third game in a row, beating the league-leading Gigantes del Cibao, 9-2. In Santiago, the Aguilas Cibaenas took 13 innings to defeat the Estrellas Orientales. The win puts the Aguilas in second place.
Standings
| Team | W-L | Avg. | Games Behind |
| Gigantes | 25 - 13 | .658 | -- |
| Aguilas | 24 - 14 | .631 | 1.0 |
| Licey | 24 - 14 | .631 | 1.0 |
| Estrellas | 18 - 20 | .474 | 7.0 |
| Azucareros | 11 - 26 | .316 | 13.0 |
| Escogido | 11 - 27 | .289 | 14.0 |
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