Medina to take advice on Migration Pact?
Executive Branch seeks special permits for bonds and sale of state enterprise
Safe Christmas plan begins
Samana road toll subsidy still has to be paid
Not enough water for agriculture
Neo natal deaths continue to rise
Attorney General asks accused man to return to the Dominican Republic
Explosion in Larimar mine
RD$5.3 billion to finance new vehicles
Cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic found in Germany
Medina to take advice on Migration Pact?
According to President Danilo Medina’s spokesman, Roberto Rodríguez Marchena, on Friday, 30 November 2018, the President created an inter-institutional commission to analyze the documents and offer details about the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration the country would be signing in Morocco. The commission was ordered to make final recommendations to the President as the head of foreign policy.
According to Rodríguez Marchena, the commission is made up of the Ministry of the Presidency, Ministry of Interior and Police, the legal advisor to the President and the director of the Office of Information, Analysis and Strategic Programming (DIAPE). Rodríguez Marchena said that once the President has the report and has taken a decision he will let the public know.
Information on the signing of the pact was only known in the Dominican Republic after international media, including El Pais of Spain, revealed that several countries had rejected to sign the pact for matters of sovereignty and national security. The United States, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Croatia have said they will not sign during the Marrakesh, Morocco conference, the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The conference is scheduled to take place in Marrakesh, Morocco on the 10th and 11th of December. The Global Compact is being promoted by the United Nations as the link between migration and development policies.
After the news of the pending pact signing broke in international and national press, the signing has met with widespread local opposition from opposition politicians and business people, primarily on grounds of national security. The Dominican Republic shares a 300-km border with Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere that is marked by political, social and economic instability and is described as a failed state. In reality, there is little security and controls on the border with regular widespread crossing of undocumented Haitians a normal occurrence for commerce, education and health and work purposes.
https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...nstitucional-estudie-y-le-rinda-informe-sobre
http://eldia.com.do/desconfianza-en-la-onu/
Executive Branch seeks special permits for bonds and sale of state enterprise
The Presidency sent to Congress a bill for the authorization of placement of public debt bonds for RD$190 billion through the Ministry of Hacienda, as reported in Diario Libre. The National Budget would authorize the bonds be placed in national and international markets in any currency. The amount could be increased to RD$231 billion.
As part of the 2018 National Budget the government is also requesting authorization for the sale of up to 5% of the public sector non-financial debt or around US$1.5 billion without congressional approval. The Executive Branch is requesting Congress authorize it to only have to inform about the procedure.
In addition, the 2019 National Budget under study in Congress also requests authorization for the sale of state enterprises for up to 10% of the non-financial public debt. Minister of Hacienda Donald Guerrero has said that the intention is to find a partner for the Punta Catalina thermoelectric power plant under construction by Odebrecht-Technimont-Estrella in Peravia province.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/gobierno-somete-bonos-deuda-por-rd-190-mil-mm-BB11542838
Safe Christmas plan begins
National Police spokesman, Frank Durán Mejía announced the “Preventive Plan for Christmas Security 2018” kicked in on Monday, 3 December at 9:30am. More officers have been added to the patrols. Last year there were 24,023 police officers and 2,900 members of the Armed Forces patrolling the streets during the Christmas season. National Police director, Major General Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte, says this year there would be 26,238 police officers on the streets and more than 3,000 military for a total of 29,538 people. The holiday season lasts all December and ends after Three Kings Day, on 6 January 2018.
The team of men and women includes the National Police men and women, but also members of the General Department of Terrestrial Transit Security (DIGESETT), and the Departments of Investigation and Antinarcotics. Also involved would be the tourist police (CESTUR) and the Military and Police Commission (COMIPOL).
http://www.policianacional.gob.do/noticias/inicia-operativo-navidad-tranquila-y-segura-2018/
Samana road toll subsidy still has to be paid
It would seem Dominican taxpayers have already paid for the construction of the Samana-Santo Domingo toll road. But the contract is obliging to pay for it many more times over.
Diario Libre looks into how since 2016, every year the amount paid from the National Budget to the Ministry of Public Works to pay the subsidy for the tolls for the Santo Domingo-Samaná Highway has increased. Samana has the country’s first and last concession roads. For 2019, the amount is thought to RD$3.57 million, or RD$978.8 million more established in the budget, according to a report in Diario Libre.
When the contract was signed between the Dominican State and the concession Autopistas de Nordeste, it was agreed that the government would pay a guaranteed minimum to cover any revenue shortfalls due to a lack of traffic. As has happened, there has not been a year when the vehicular traffic on the 106 kilometer toll road from the Las Americas Highway to Samaná has been sufficient to avoid the government of having to pay the subsidy.
However, in August 2018, Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo said that they were making progress with a review of the contract, which is due to last 30 years. In an interview with Diario Libre, he said that the road would in the future be administrated by RDVial, the trust created by the Medina administration and involving international investors.
The prices of the tolls have increased over time. In 2013 the Marbella toll was RD$55 for light vehicles; now it is RD$59. In Naranjal, the same vehicle used to pay RD$166 and now pays RD$189, and in Guaraguao it used to cost RD$195 and now is RD$222.
The road, officially called Juan Pablo II, was inaugurated on 12 December 2008. A second stage was the Boulevard del Atlantico from Nagua to Samaná, where the toll is RD$552. This road was built by Boulevard del Atlantico.
Director General of the Budget, Luis Reyes, has said that the receipts for the tolls should be audited especially given that the number of vehicles using both roads has never reached the budgeted figure.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...-sd-samana-subira-casi-rd-1-000-mm-KG11538983
Not enough water for agriculture
Despite the fact that in 2018 there was a deficit of water, according the director of the National Institute of Hydrological Resources (Indrhi), Olgo Fernández, there will be sufficient water in 2019 for human consumption, but not for agriculture. Looking at the situation of water for this year, he said that that the recently over hurricane season had been critical for the dams as only Hatillo and Sabaneta filled to the brim, and comparing 2018 to previous years, although there was a good deal of rain this year, it was not where the dams were located. Most rain fell in Greater Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal, Ocoa, Baní, Monte Plata and in the east of the country.
Fernandez said that this means that the water for rice planting has to be rationed in the areas of Santiago, Mao and Montecristi, as they depend on the dam complex of Tavera- Bao-López- Angostura. Given the situation, INDRHI has recommended to the Ministry of Agriculture, Banco Agrícola, Dominican Agrarian Institute, and Special Fund for Agricultural Development (FEDA), the associations of producers and the Irrigation Boards to take the water situation into consideration when planting. Normally, he said the rice planting began from 1 December, but they should be aware there would be a lack of water in the northwest, although there would be no issue in San Juan as the Sabaneta dam was discharging water for several days in October.
Fernandez advocates for the construction of more dams so more water can be available for agriculture. He says the country has 36 dams, the largest in Hatillo, but that the Sabana Yegua dam stores more as it does not discharge freely. He said that the country needs to invest to guarantee the provision of water for agriculture and human consumption. He observed that President Medina had begun the process with an investment of RD$22 billion in the Monte Grande dam and authorizations to build more smaller dams in La Pina, in Dajabón; El Salado, in Hatillo Palma; Samba and Carbonies in Santiago Rodríguez.
The Dominican Republic has 4.97 million tareas (a tarea is 628 square meters) of irrigated land and the actual availability of water is 2,302 million cubic meters of storage. INDRHI is proposing two million more tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters) and the storage of water be increased to 3,500 million cubic meters.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...ara-2019-pero-no-en-la-agricultura-CB11542415
Neonatal deaths continue to rise
Since the beginning of this year there have been 3,065 neonatal deaths compared to 2,763 in the same period last year, which is a 10.8% increase. According to the Epidemiological Bulletin for week 45, published by the Ministry of Public Health, 74% of these deaths, some 2,259, happened during the first 28 days of the babies’ lives.
In the last four weeks, 277 babies died in their first month after birth, as reported. There has, however, been a small reduction in the number of maternal deaths with 174 recorded to this date in 2017 and 165 recorded to date this year. In the last week there were five maternal deaths of women between the ages of 16 and 40.
Activist Sergia Galván attributes the high number of neonatal deaths in the country to a Dominican public health system that is on the edge of collapse due to a low level of investment and its focus on treatment of disease and not prevention, with a lack of treatment of environmental factors and malnutrition. Galván added the statistics also reflect the lack of compliance with protocols and the lack of existence of a regime of consequences and sanctions following neonatal deaths.
Others consider that the lack of legalization of abortion contributes to the high number of deaths when births are due to rape or incest or when the pregnancy is not viable.
https://almomento.net/mas-de-3000-recien-nacidos-han-muerto-este-ano-en-republica-dominicana/
Attorney General asks accused man to return to the Dominican Republic
Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez has urged Argenis Contreras, suspect in murder of lawyer Yuniol Ramirez, to return to the country to face the charges. Contreras is currently in the United States and Rodriguez has asked him to hand himself over to the Dominican authorities.
Rodríguez said that the Public Prosecution service would house Contreras in a jail with decent facilities and he would be treated well. Rodriguez confirmed that AG’s office is in talks with the United States about Contreras’ deportation back to the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez noted that the US government has already been ordered Contreras to be deported. He also explained that the time Contreras has been held in jail in the United States would not be counted as part of his sentence in the Dominican Republic.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...nder-por-muerte-yuniol-garantiza-carcel-digna
Explosion in Larimar mine
Two men were seriously injured following an explosion in the Larimar mine in Las Filipinas, Barahona. The accident happened on Saturday, 1 December 2018, and both men, aged 25 and 30, suffered burns over 90% of their bodies. One victim was identified as Junior Cuevas, but to date the other victim has not been identified in the media.
The men were initially taken to the Jaime Mota Regional Hospital in Barahona and from there transferred to Santo Domingo.
Francisco Gómez, member of the Cooperative of Mining Extraction of Larimar in Las Filipinas, explained that this was the first time there had been an explosion in the mine. He said that the accident occurred when the men had finished work and were coming up to the surface of the mine.
http://hoy.com.do/dos-quemados-en-explosion-mina/
RD$5.3 billion to finance new vehicles
Loans for industry and business are relatively scarce and costly in the Dominican Republic, but getting a loan to purchase a luxury car is a breeze. Major banks in the Dominican Republic frequently hold major financing fairs to offer low cost financing of around 9% a year for the purchase of vehicles. Loans for industry contrastingly are at around 14% interest rate.
Auto Feria Popular announced it had cleared financing deals for RD$5.3 billion in the four-day fair held over the past weekend. This is enough to finance around 3,880 new vehicles (2019 or 2018 models) at an average of RD$1.4 million each. The most sold vehicle is the SUV, as reported in El Dia. During the fair, 22 vehicle import companies participated exhibiting 27 new models.
http://eldia.com.do/auto-feria-popular-financia-rd5305-millones-en-4-dias/
Cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic found in Germany
Customs agents in Hamburg, in the north of Germany have discovered 300 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a large cargo of dental floss in a container sent from the Dominican Republic. Supposedly the cocaine has a black market value of US$71.6 million. So far there is no information as to if anyone has been arrested in connection with the crime.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...o-enviados-de-republica-dominicana-FG11536506
Executive Branch seeks special permits for bonds and sale of state enterprise
Safe Christmas plan begins
Samana road toll subsidy still has to be paid
Not enough water for agriculture
Neo natal deaths continue to rise
Attorney General asks accused man to return to the Dominican Republic
Explosion in Larimar mine
RD$5.3 billion to finance new vehicles
Cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic found in Germany
Medina to take advice on Migration Pact?
According to President Danilo Medina’s spokesman, Roberto Rodríguez Marchena, on Friday, 30 November 2018, the President created an inter-institutional commission to analyze the documents and offer details about the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration the country would be signing in Morocco. The commission was ordered to make final recommendations to the President as the head of foreign policy.
According to Rodríguez Marchena, the commission is made up of the Ministry of the Presidency, Ministry of Interior and Police, the legal advisor to the President and the director of the Office of Information, Analysis and Strategic Programming (DIAPE). Rodríguez Marchena said that once the President has the report and has taken a decision he will let the public know.
Information on the signing of the pact was only known in the Dominican Republic after international media, including El Pais of Spain, revealed that several countries had rejected to sign the pact for matters of sovereignty and national security. The United States, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Croatia have said they will not sign during the Marrakesh, Morocco conference, the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The conference is scheduled to take place in Marrakesh, Morocco on the 10th and 11th of December. The Global Compact is being promoted by the United Nations as the link between migration and development policies.
After the news of the pending pact signing broke in international and national press, the signing has met with widespread local opposition from opposition politicians and business people, primarily on grounds of national security. The Dominican Republic shares a 300-km border with Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere that is marked by political, social and economic instability and is described as a failed state. In reality, there is little security and controls on the border with regular widespread crossing of undocumented Haitians a normal occurrence for commerce, education and health and work purposes.
https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...nstitucional-estudie-y-le-rinda-informe-sobre
http://eldia.com.do/desconfianza-en-la-onu/
Executive Branch seeks special permits for bonds and sale of state enterprise
The Presidency sent to Congress a bill for the authorization of placement of public debt bonds for RD$190 billion through the Ministry of Hacienda, as reported in Diario Libre. The National Budget would authorize the bonds be placed in national and international markets in any currency. The amount could be increased to RD$231 billion.
As part of the 2018 National Budget the government is also requesting authorization for the sale of up to 5% of the public sector non-financial debt or around US$1.5 billion without congressional approval. The Executive Branch is requesting Congress authorize it to only have to inform about the procedure.
In addition, the 2019 National Budget under study in Congress also requests authorization for the sale of state enterprises for up to 10% of the non-financial public debt. Minister of Hacienda Donald Guerrero has said that the intention is to find a partner for the Punta Catalina thermoelectric power plant under construction by Odebrecht-Technimont-Estrella in Peravia province.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/gobierno-somete-bonos-deuda-por-rd-190-mil-mm-BB11542838
Safe Christmas plan begins
National Police spokesman, Frank Durán Mejía announced the “Preventive Plan for Christmas Security 2018” kicked in on Monday, 3 December at 9:30am. More officers have been added to the patrols. Last year there were 24,023 police officers and 2,900 members of the Armed Forces patrolling the streets during the Christmas season. National Police director, Major General Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte, says this year there would be 26,238 police officers on the streets and more than 3,000 military for a total of 29,538 people. The holiday season lasts all December and ends after Three Kings Day, on 6 January 2018.
The team of men and women includes the National Police men and women, but also members of the General Department of Terrestrial Transit Security (DIGESETT), and the Departments of Investigation and Antinarcotics. Also involved would be the tourist police (CESTUR) and the Military and Police Commission (COMIPOL).
http://www.policianacional.gob.do/noticias/inicia-operativo-navidad-tranquila-y-segura-2018/
Samana road toll subsidy still has to be paid
It would seem Dominican taxpayers have already paid for the construction of the Samana-Santo Domingo toll road. But the contract is obliging to pay for it many more times over.
Diario Libre looks into how since 2016, every year the amount paid from the National Budget to the Ministry of Public Works to pay the subsidy for the tolls for the Santo Domingo-Samaná Highway has increased. Samana has the country’s first and last concession roads. For 2019, the amount is thought to RD$3.57 million, or RD$978.8 million more established in the budget, according to a report in Diario Libre.
When the contract was signed between the Dominican State and the concession Autopistas de Nordeste, it was agreed that the government would pay a guaranteed minimum to cover any revenue shortfalls due to a lack of traffic. As has happened, there has not been a year when the vehicular traffic on the 106 kilometer toll road from the Las Americas Highway to Samaná has been sufficient to avoid the government of having to pay the subsidy.
However, in August 2018, Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo said that they were making progress with a review of the contract, which is due to last 30 years. In an interview with Diario Libre, he said that the road would in the future be administrated by RDVial, the trust created by the Medina administration and involving international investors.
The prices of the tolls have increased over time. In 2013 the Marbella toll was RD$55 for light vehicles; now it is RD$59. In Naranjal, the same vehicle used to pay RD$166 and now pays RD$189, and in Guaraguao it used to cost RD$195 and now is RD$222.
The road, officially called Juan Pablo II, was inaugurated on 12 December 2008. A second stage was the Boulevard del Atlantico from Nagua to Samaná, where the toll is RD$552. This road was built by Boulevard del Atlantico.
Director General of the Budget, Luis Reyes, has said that the receipts for the tolls should be audited especially given that the number of vehicles using both roads has never reached the budgeted figure.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...-sd-samana-subira-casi-rd-1-000-mm-KG11538983
Not enough water for agriculture
Despite the fact that in 2018 there was a deficit of water, according the director of the National Institute of Hydrological Resources (Indrhi), Olgo Fernández, there will be sufficient water in 2019 for human consumption, but not for agriculture. Looking at the situation of water for this year, he said that that the recently over hurricane season had been critical for the dams as only Hatillo and Sabaneta filled to the brim, and comparing 2018 to previous years, although there was a good deal of rain this year, it was not where the dams were located. Most rain fell in Greater Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal, Ocoa, Baní, Monte Plata and in the east of the country.
Fernandez said that this means that the water for rice planting has to be rationed in the areas of Santiago, Mao and Montecristi, as they depend on the dam complex of Tavera- Bao-López- Angostura. Given the situation, INDRHI has recommended to the Ministry of Agriculture, Banco Agrícola, Dominican Agrarian Institute, and Special Fund for Agricultural Development (FEDA), the associations of producers and the Irrigation Boards to take the water situation into consideration when planting. Normally, he said the rice planting began from 1 December, but they should be aware there would be a lack of water in the northwest, although there would be no issue in San Juan as the Sabaneta dam was discharging water for several days in October.
Fernandez advocates for the construction of more dams so more water can be available for agriculture. He says the country has 36 dams, the largest in Hatillo, but that the Sabana Yegua dam stores more as it does not discharge freely. He said that the country needs to invest to guarantee the provision of water for agriculture and human consumption. He observed that President Medina had begun the process with an investment of RD$22 billion in the Monte Grande dam and authorizations to build more smaller dams in La Pina, in Dajabón; El Salado, in Hatillo Palma; Samba and Carbonies in Santiago Rodríguez.
The Dominican Republic has 4.97 million tareas (a tarea is 628 square meters) of irrigated land and the actual availability of water is 2,302 million cubic meters of storage. INDRHI is proposing two million more tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters) and the storage of water be increased to 3,500 million cubic meters.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...ara-2019-pero-no-en-la-agricultura-CB11542415
Neonatal deaths continue to rise
Since the beginning of this year there have been 3,065 neonatal deaths compared to 2,763 in the same period last year, which is a 10.8% increase. According to the Epidemiological Bulletin for week 45, published by the Ministry of Public Health, 74% of these deaths, some 2,259, happened during the first 28 days of the babies’ lives.
In the last four weeks, 277 babies died in their first month after birth, as reported. There has, however, been a small reduction in the number of maternal deaths with 174 recorded to this date in 2017 and 165 recorded to date this year. In the last week there were five maternal deaths of women between the ages of 16 and 40.
Activist Sergia Galván attributes the high number of neonatal deaths in the country to a Dominican public health system that is on the edge of collapse due to a low level of investment and its focus on treatment of disease and not prevention, with a lack of treatment of environmental factors and malnutrition. Galván added the statistics also reflect the lack of compliance with protocols and the lack of existence of a regime of consequences and sanctions following neonatal deaths.
Others consider that the lack of legalization of abortion contributes to the high number of deaths when births are due to rape or incest or when the pregnancy is not viable.
https://almomento.net/mas-de-3000-recien-nacidos-han-muerto-este-ano-en-republica-dominicana/
Attorney General asks accused man to return to the Dominican Republic
Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez has urged Argenis Contreras, suspect in murder of lawyer Yuniol Ramirez, to return to the country to face the charges. Contreras is currently in the United States and Rodriguez has asked him to hand himself over to the Dominican authorities.
Rodríguez said that the Public Prosecution service would house Contreras in a jail with decent facilities and he would be treated well. Rodriguez confirmed that AG’s office is in talks with the United States about Contreras’ deportation back to the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez noted that the US government has already been ordered Contreras to be deported. He also explained that the time Contreras has been held in jail in the United States would not be counted as part of his sentence in the Dominican Republic.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...nder-por-muerte-yuniol-garantiza-carcel-digna
Explosion in Larimar mine
Two men were seriously injured following an explosion in the Larimar mine in Las Filipinas, Barahona. The accident happened on Saturday, 1 December 2018, and both men, aged 25 and 30, suffered burns over 90% of their bodies. One victim was identified as Junior Cuevas, but to date the other victim has not been identified in the media.
The men were initially taken to the Jaime Mota Regional Hospital in Barahona and from there transferred to Santo Domingo.
Francisco Gómez, member of the Cooperative of Mining Extraction of Larimar in Las Filipinas, explained that this was the first time there had been an explosion in the mine. He said that the accident occurred when the men had finished work and were coming up to the surface of the mine.
http://hoy.com.do/dos-quemados-en-explosion-mina/
RD$5.3 billion to finance new vehicles
Loans for industry and business are relatively scarce and costly in the Dominican Republic, but getting a loan to purchase a luxury car is a breeze. Major banks in the Dominican Republic frequently hold major financing fairs to offer low cost financing of around 9% a year for the purchase of vehicles. Loans for industry contrastingly are at around 14% interest rate.
Auto Feria Popular announced it had cleared financing deals for RD$5.3 billion in the four-day fair held over the past weekend. This is enough to finance around 3,880 new vehicles (2019 or 2018 models) at an average of RD$1.4 million each. The most sold vehicle is the SUV, as reported in El Dia. During the fair, 22 vehicle import companies participated exhibiting 27 new models.
http://eldia.com.do/auto-feria-popular-financia-rd5305-millones-en-4-dias/
Cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic found in Germany
Customs agents in Hamburg, in the north of Germany have discovered 300 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a large cargo of dental floss in a container sent from the Dominican Republic. Supposedly the cocaine has a black market value of US$71.6 million. So far there is no information as to if anyone has been arrested in connection with the crime.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...o-enviados-de-republica-dominicana-FG11536506