President Fern?ndez said in a televised speech last night that the extraordinary session of Congress that he has invoked must as a matter of national priority approve the emergency loan agreements his government has made with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD). The loans in question are critical for completing the process of reconstruction process after Hurricane Georges, he declared. Among other things, they are earmarked for repairing fallen electrical trunk lines, rehabilitating the hydroelectric plant at Jimenoa, rebuilding or repairing damaged bridges in Azua, Barahona, Higuey, Hato Mayor, San Juan, S?nchez Ram?rez and Santiago, and fixing highway segments in Azua, Hato Mayor, Higuey, Independencia, La Vega, Pedernales and San Crist?bal. The speech was designed to put pressure on the PRD to cooperate. PRD controls both chambers of Congress, so the government needs its support in order to pass the loan agreements, as well as several economic reform bills and the recently completed Central American Free Trade Agreement. After initially dithering over whether they would even attend the extraordinary session (their absence guaranteeing a lack of quorum for the Congress to do business), the PRD’s executive body ("Presidium") yesterday voted to order its Senators and Deputies to at least attend, but made no commitment about cooperating in securing the passage of particular measures.
