DR1 Daily News - Thursday, 19 July 2018

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DR1 Daily News next update on 23 July 2018
The Manzanillo Chinese natural gas deal is for real
Expert questions tender for Punta Catalina coal
Public Health issues warning regarding imported vegetables
The Agro Business Exchange holds auction today
DR seeks increased access to CAF funds
Former Central Bank manager criticizes debt-taking
Dollars are scarce, say businessmen
Denial of service by ARS violates the law
Cracks in the Colonial City
New set of LASPAU scholarships in education
Deputies, led by PLD, reject commission on Joao Santana
Fadul: the PLD has not fixed its position on primaries
Keep umbrellas handy
Comedy at the National Theater


DR1 Daily News next update on 23 July 2018
The next DR1 Daily News update will be published on Monday, 23 July 2018. The Monday issue will compile headline news for the previous Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Breaking news can be followed 24/7 in the Forums. See the DR1 Forum at http://www.dr1.com


The Manzanillo Chinese natural gas deal is for real
Despite the prompt denial by executive vice president Rubén Jiménez Bichara, it is now confirmed that a representative of the Dominican government did sign a memorandum of understanding with the China Huayang Economic and Trade Group Co., Ltd, a Chinese state-owned company under the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Acento published on 18 July 2018, that indeed the agreement was witnessed by over 40 persons that participated in a major event at The Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 8 July 2018, two months after the establishing of diplomatic relations.

Signing the agreement was José Rafael Santana Santana, who is the president of the board of the Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE). Present was acting Dominican ambassador Rosa Ng Wu, who has served as the Dominican commercial representative in China. Cheng Qingtao, president of Huayang Group, signed for China.

The agreement does not specify details of the energy central and just refers to the intention of the state Chinese company in participating in the construction of a project in Manzanillo, Montecristi after a tender is held.

The information that the talks were regarding a power plant to be built in Manzanillo, Montecristi was known by the general public in the Dominican Republic after El Nacional and El Dia reported that Inframation News had released the news on its online platform that covers major infrastructure construction deals around the world.

Inframation News reported that the Manzanillo central would be built at the site of the Manzanillo port, for which a concession would be part of the deal. The agreement calls for a BOO or BOT project, with sovereign guarantees and the China Development Bank would lend the money. BOO means Build, Own, Operate; and BOT means Build, Operate, Transfer.

The proposal is for a 1,200 MW power plant that would be fueled by natural gas and included in the project is the construction of natural gas terminals as well as transmission and distribution systems from the power plant to the national power grid.

In the memorandum of understanding signed on 5 July, reportedly José Rafael Santana for the board of the CDEEE accepts that the Chinese government entity would use the port of Manzanillo for the construction and setting into operation of the power generating facility. This would be the first major project announced between the two countries since China replaced Taiwan three months ago.

Inframation News had reported that the Dominican Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE) had signed a memorandum of understanding with China Huayang for the installation of a natural gas power generation plant in Manzanillo Bay. This was covered by El Dia. This would be a public-private concession for 30 years.

China Huayang Economic and Trade Group Co. is a Chinese state-owned company under the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

But after the news was published, CDEEE executive vice president Ruben Jimenez Bichara had promptly denied the signing of an agreement. He claimed the government had not reached any agreement of intent on future power generation plants with a Chinese corporation.

When the news was published two weeks after the meeting, executive vice president of the CDEEE once again denied the signing of any intent. On Wednesday, Jiménez Bichara clarified that the president of the board of the CDEEE was authorized to sign in China a memorandum of understanding for the companies that were interested in carrying out projects in the Dominican Republic. He downplayed the importance of the memorandum of understanding (MOU-HOA) and said this did not imply any concession on behalf of the Dominican state. "It is a document where the CDEEE shows that we are willing to listen to them, to do their studies and everything they require, because that is the freedom of the company," Jiménez Bichara said in a document sent to El Nacional newspaper.

In a press conference on Wednesday in the presence of Santana and Jiménez Bichara, these clarified that the document offered general statements such as the government openness to facilitate feasibility studies, and that Huayang’s participation in the Dominican market was subject to complying with Dominican laws and procedures.

El Dia observed that the CDEEE has signed 27 memorandums of understanding in the past three months with potential energy investors, but for the only one that government officers traveled abroad to sign was that with the People’s Republic of China state company.

Acento published a copy of the memorandum of understanding that includes a clause of confidentiality. The MOU is limited 60 days, while the confidentiality restriction is two years.

The Manzanillo project requires congressional approval and a tender would need to be carried out to comply with the procurement law.

The Movimiento Conciencia Nacional, in a document sent to the media and reported by Hoy, speculated that the reason why the government officers have hidden the agreement is that the lower costs of the project would evidence the overvaluation that has occurred at the Punta Catalina coal-fired power plant under construction by the government with Odebrecht in Peravia province.

https://acento.com.do/2018/economia...rgetico-que-el-gobierno-dominicano-desconoce/
http://elnacional.com.do/dice-funcionario-de-cdeee-podia-firmar/
https://acento.com.do/2018/economia...rgetico-que-el-gobierno-dominicano-desconoce/
https://www.eldinero.com.do/63757/c...para-nueva-generacion-ni-concesion-portuaria/
http://elnacional.com.do/dice-funcionario-de-cdeee-podia-firmar/
http://eldia.com.do/funcionario-de-cdeee-viajo-a-china-a-firmar-entendimiento/
https://www.listindiario.com/econom...n-empresa-china-no-fue-un-contrato-definitivo
http://hoy.com.do/movimiento-dice-g...n-china-revele-sobrevaluacion-punta-catalina/
https://acento.com.do/2018/economia...puesta-planta-electrica-contratada-con-china/
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/t6HoY69rPtz0dK7EpOvzBg
https://acento.com.do/wp-content/uploads/Memorándum-de-Entendimiento-No-Vinculante.pdf
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-MOU-and-MOA-Are-both-of-these-legally-binding


Expert questions tender for Punta Catalina coal
The deputy director of the energy commission of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), Antonio Almonte, alerted that the tender for contracting of coal for Punta Catalina coal-fired power plant by the Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE) violates the Procurement Law.

Almonte said in a press release that notwithstanding the repeated and documented questioning of the process of contracting and construction of the Punta Catalina thermoelectric plant, the administration of the CDEEE continues to tender contracts related to this project through procedures that violate the procurement and contracting law and the most elementary rules of transparency and credibility.

The tender CDEEE-PR-01-2018 is carried out under the “procedures for exception” that is intended to cover unpredictable situations, emergencies and other exceptional needs.” Almonte says this is not the case of Punta Catalina. The tender could reach more than RD$5 billion a year in around 10 million tons of coal purchases a year. He said that on 15 May 2015, CDEEE executive vice president Ruben Jiménez Bichara had announced the entity would tender in timely matter the sourcing of coal for the power plant.

“This unnecessarily hasty way of calling for a tender of this magnitude could prevent the country from getting the best offer in the market in terms of price, quality and service efficiency," argues Almonte.

"In summary, with this procedure, the CDEEE justifies and encourages public questioning and suspicion about the important Punta Catalina project that has been surrounded by accusations of corruption and spurious contracts to the detriment of the finances of the Dominican people," concludes the energy specialist.

https://acento.com.do/2018/economia...ras-licitacion-comprar-carbon-punta-catalina/


Public Health issues warning regarding imported vegetables
The Ministry of Health reported that it has received information from the International Network of Food Authorities that imported vegetables could contain bacteria that produces a reaction named Listeriosis.

The USA Center for Disease Control alerts of the possibility of severe illness, including sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis with the possibility of death or life long harm. The international agency said that lots of frozen corn, carrots and broccoli of the Vima Foods brand coming from Belgium and Hungary and manufactured between 13 August 2016 and 20 June 2018, have been found to be contaminated by the Listeria bacteria.

The Dominican health agency carried out an inspection of VIMA Dominicana, SLR, which markets these products in the Dominican Republic, and ordered the withdrawal of all the affected lots since they represent a very high risk for consumers. The agency also instructs the consumers who have purchased these products to discard or return them to the shop where they were purchased.

The epidemiological section of the Ministry has been placed on alert for the study and evaluation of possible victims.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...vegetales-contaminado-con-bacteria-EF10376002


The Agro Business Exchange holds auction today
The Agro Business Exchange of the Dominican Republic (BARD) is holding on 19 July 2018, an auction of merchandise that was seized by the Dominican Customs Agency (DGA). The merchandise includes wood, used tires, clothing, ceramics, suitcases, toilet paper, synthetic hair, boats, fans and motorcycle parts. The merchandise is on exhibit at the warehouse used by the DGA for its auctions, located on Jacobo Majluta Avenue near the La Isabela International Airport in northern Santo Domingo as well is in Parking Lot Num. 5 at the Port of Haina Oriental and at the Multimodal Port of Caucedo. There are certain forms to be filled out for participating in the auctions and these are available through the BARD offices, which is an affiliate of the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD).

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...rial-hara-una-subasta-para-aduanas-CF10376150


DR seeks increased access to CAF funds
The Dominican Republic announced it seeks to become a full-fledged member of the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF). The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) is a multilateral development bank that is currently owned by 19 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe as well as 14 private banks from the Andes region of Latin America. The DR has been a member since 2004, but the new status would increase the country’s access to bank funds. The announcement was made in Panama, by the president of the institution, Luis Carranza.

https://www.caf.com/en/

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...ra-su-incorporacion-plena-a-la-caf-IE10368725


Former Central Bank manager criticizes debt-taking
Former general manager of the Central Bank, Apolinar Veloz, claimed that Central Bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu is lying to the nation about the economic growth of the country. In a radio interview for El Gobierno de la Mañana he said politics is prevailing, not an independent analysis of the situation. He called the continued taking on of debt by the government unsustainable.

"The Dominican economy grows with the public deficit, the Dominican economy grows with a deficit in the balance of payment, the Dominican economy grows with insufficient national savings to finance its investment,” he stated. He said that now the only way the Dominican economy can grow is by taking on more debt to finance all those deficits.

He estimated the non-financial public debt at around US$35 billion but said the information is not all available.

http://z101digital.com/articulos/au...ico-afirma-exasistente-tecnico-fmi-07-16-2018


Dollars are scarce, say businessmen
The president of the National Association of Herrera Industries (Aneih), Antonio Taveras Guzmán, complained about the scarcity of hard currency in Dominican banks. He said this is affecting the capacity of Dominican businesses to meet their financial obligations with international suppliers. In a press conference, Taveras said that companies are now having to borrow in dollars to meet their international commitments. Taveras said that if the data shared by the Central Bank on the growth of the economy are true, there should not be a scarcity of dollars in the country.

He warned that the recent issuing of US$1.3 billion in international bonds by the Ministry of Hacienda is only a short-term solution to the problem. He called for more definitive measures to ensure the flow of foreign currency over the long term.

The Central Bank reported that the recently contracted bond money will enter the country on 19 July 2018. The Central Bank says that the economic growth and the increase in petrol prices have impacted the demand for hard currency.

https://acento.com.do/2018/economia/8587840-industriales-herrera-afirman-la-escasez-dolares-critica/
http://eldia.com.do/banco-central-interviene-el-mercado-cambiario/


Denial of service by ARS violates the law
The Administrators of Health Risks (ARS) – the local equivalent of an HMO – lack legal, regulatory and prescriptive basis for the denial of service to the affiliates of the Family Health Insurance through payroll deductions called “Regimen Contributivo,” according to the Superintendence of Health and Labor Risks (Sisalril). Sisalril says that if an affiliate of the Social Security System, a professional qualified to indicate a lab tests, established in the Catalog of Services of the PDSS, the ARS is obliged to provide service.

The press note published on 18 July 2018, in the El Nacional newspaper explains: “For the simple fact that the Doctor who prescribes a lab tests or study is not part of the network of persons contracted for service, service should not be denied to the affiliate.” The notice also says that if an ARS denies coverage, the affiliated client has the right to file a claim in the offices of the Director of Information and Defense of Affiliates (DIDA) and at Sisalril itself calling for an investigation of the particular case.

The president of the Dominican Medical Guild (CMD), Doctor Wilson Roa Familia, warned: “We are going to make the ARS understand that we will defend our rights as established by the law.” He went on to say that the ARS cannot affect the right of patients to choose who will carry out medical procedures or lab tests.”

http://elnacional.com.do/ven-ars-violan-ley-al-negar-servicios/


Cracks in the Colonial City
Coinciding with intense truck traffic for discarding of plastic wastes on the Malecón, and the heavy rains brought by remnants of the Tropical Storm Beryl, cracks on streets in the Colonial City have widened. A thorough investigation of what’s below the asphalt has begun. Investigators were already looking at the caving in of area under the church at the Padre Billini Public Hospital in the Colonial City. It is suspect there could be unknown tunnels or caves in the area.

Meanwhile, an area off Arzobispo Meriño street near the Port of Santo Domingo on the Malecón has been set off limits to traffic for security and to facilitate the investigations. Specialists from the Ministry of Public Works and the National District are working together on the case.

http://eldia.com.do/otras-calles-de-la-zona-colonial-en-peligro-de-agrietarse/
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...unde-el-pavimento-de-calle-proxima-al-malecon


New set of LASPAU scholarships in education
A new round of scholarships have been announced by the Inicia Educación non-profit for programs at the Masters level on issues relating to education. The scholarships include just about everything -- tuition, room and board, travel, books, and even medical insurance. Applicants must be Dominicans and reside in the Dominican Republic. Applications are to be made through the LASPAU website.

A score of at least 80 on the Internet version of the TOEFL exam is also required together with a commitment to return to the country for at least two years after the studies are completed.

According to a press release, the idea is that the scholarship recipients become part of the Dominican educational system and create a network of new talent and bring new ideas to the system.

Already some 22 Dominicans have taken part in this program, and have studied at such well-known universities as Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Duke and the University of Wisconsin.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...s-para-cursar-becas-para-maestrias-EF10376561


Deputies, led by PLD, reject commission on Joao Santana
The PLD-majority Chamber of Deputies rejected a proposal presented by several deputies of the PRM for the naming of a commission to investigate the contracts signed by the government with companies belonging to Brazilians Joao Santana, and his wife Monica Moura. Santana and Moura are currently in jail in Brazil having been found guilty of corruption in the Odebrecht Lava Jato case.

According to a statement by the PRM deputy Faride Raful, revealed she had received documents from the General Controller’s office of the Dominican Republic, whereby the Administrative Ministry of the Presidency had signed communication advisory contracts without holding a public tender for RD$1.4 billion. The administrative minister of the Presidency has acknowledged signing contracts amounted to RD$430 million.

According to deputy Raful, the contracts signed with Santana and Moura were in violation of the Procurement Law.

After the Chamber of Deputies rejected the petition to create a commission to investigate the case, the legislator sent out a tweet that said “the Deputies have just behaved like who they really are – a rubberstamp of the Dominican government. Danilo Medina’s Congress.”

The PRM deputy is now calling for the Specialized Prosecutor for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (PEPCA) to proceed with an investigation. She says there is evidence that Joao Santana was paid up until 2017, even when Santana was already in prison in Brazil, contrary to statements from the Presidency.

Faride Raful responded to the letter sent by the Administrative Ministry of the Presidency to the National Congress. She says in the supposed “denial” to the payments issued by the Executive Branch RD$1.4 billion to the companies of Joao Santana and his wife Mónica Moura, for communications advisory services there is no justification for the payments that have been confirmed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Republic.

She asked for the Administrative Ministry of the Presidency to deny the contract received from the Comptroller’s Office for contracting of services for US$1.2 million on 7 January 2016 and others.

For his part, fellow PRM deputy Robinson Diaz said that the letter received from Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ramon Peralta has several inconsistencies in the amounts indicated. "I am surprised that there is talk of RD$430 million when we both know that there were two contracts for RD$480 million pesos. We are talking about more than RD$1.4 billion," said the legislator.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...atos-del-gobierno-con-joao-santana-MF10376864
http://z101digital.com/articulos/vi...este-nego-trabajos-de-joao-santana-07-18-2018
http://cdn.com.do/2018/07/18/prm-pide-pepca-investigue-legalidad-contratos-joao-santana-esposa/
http://hoy.com.do/video-la-respuesta-de-faride-raful-a-jose-ramon-peralta-y-su-carta/
http://cdn.com.do/2018/07/18/prm-pide-pepca-investigue-legalidad-contratos-joao-santana-esposa/
http://hoy.com.do/video-la-respuesta-de-faride-raful-a-jose-ramon-peralta-y-su-carta/
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...para-asesoria-en-comunicacion-y-planificacion
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...erno-explica-pagos-totales-a-empresas-de-joao


Fadul: the PLD has not fixed its position on primaries
The delegate of the ruling PLD party to the Central Electoral Board (JCE), José Ramon Fadul said that the PLD has not fixed its position regarding the incorporation into the Political Parties Bill of obligations for the JCE to organize the primaries of the political parties, and that the primaries be held simultaneously, and other key issues.

The Political Parties Bill has stagnated in Congress as the political parties attempt to accommodate the articles to their particular situations. The dissident faction within the PLD that follows party president Leonel Fernández does not back the position maintained by the opposition parties PRM and PRSC. This position has been also backed by the Danilo Medina faction of the PLD.

Former Superior Electoral Tribunal judge, Jose Manuel Hernández Peguero has also spoken up saying the proposal for the JCE to organize the primary of each party would violate the Constitution.


Keep umbrellas handy
The National Meteorological Office (Onamet) reported that meteorological conditions would be affected by tropical wave that is closing in on Dominican territory for the weekend. This tropical wave would bring instability to the air mass over the country and rains. Mixed with a low pressure trough that continues over the country, the tropical wave is expected to bring severe showers over many parts of the country particularly the Northeast, the Southeast, the Southwest, the central mountains and the border region.

Nevertheless, high temperatures will prevail. The National Meteorological Office advises keeping hydrated, wearing light colored clothing and staying out of direct sunlight from 11am to 4pm.

http://eldia.com.do/meteorologia-preve-aguaceros-para-este-miercoles-3/


Comedy at the National Theater
Because of a sellout, a Sunday extra showing of the La Escuelota comedy has been programmed for the National Theater. The first showing on Sunday, 22 July is at 6:30pm, with a second performance now scheduled for 8:30pm.

Starring roles are by comedians Felipe Polanco, Cuquín Victoria, Nani Peña, Kenny Grullón, Luis Gil, Phillip Rodríguez, Nicolás Díaz, Freddyn Beras. Musical direction is by Víctor Taveras.
The comedy will be shown on 15 August 2018 in Santiago.

Tickets are for sale online at Uepa Tickets and at the Jumbo, Supermercados Nacional and National Theater box offices.

https://www.diariolibre.com/revista...a-tercera-funcion-para-esta-semana-NE10369994
 
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