Even the driving rains could not dampen the spirits of the assembled crowds who had gathered to observe the public cabinet meeting convened by President Hipolito Mejia in the Northwest city of Dajabon. During the unprecedented event, they heard a succession of ministers speak about the government?s plans to bring aid to the depressed frontier region. The most widely applauded was the promise by Mejia to restore the productivity of the areas salt mines by means of halting the import of salt. The mining of salt used to be a significant source of employment in the area. Mejia also promised to launch a multi-million-peso program to develop orchards along the frontier. Mejia assured his audience that the ?mini-packet? of economic reforms he is proposing would leave ?the neediest classes? unaffected. He also promised that members of his PRD Party would be offered employment around Christmas time, and emphasized that government departments would work with the Party hierarchy to identify and fill government posts with Party stalwarts. Various cabinet members took turns in elaborating plans to help the ?forgotten? frontier province. Agriculture Minister, Eligio Jacques announced that international funding would be sought to plant orchards that will enable a resurgence in Dominican fruit exporting, and provide employment for 100,000 people. Jacques also said that the government?s Manzanillo Banana project could be taken over by private local or foreign enterprise. He also announced new projects for bean cultivation as well as sorghum. The Director of the National Water Resources Institute (INDRHI), Silvio Carrasco, announced that works will begin to shore up the River Mao so that its waters can be more easily used for irrigation. Carrasco also said that the Moncion Dam would be functional by August 2001. The Minister of Education, Milagros Ortiz Bosch, announced the construction of twelve new schools, and expenditures of DR$300 million for furnishings and books. The Governor of the Agricultural Bank, Rhadames Rodriguez Valerio, announced that DR$105 million would become available for agricultural credits in the region. The Interior and Police Minister, Rafael Subervi Bonilla, announced that he had obtained a US$19 million credit to equip all the fire houses of the region with new fire trucks, and that all the provincial governors would get new vehicles. The Public Works Minister, Miguel Vargas Maldonado, announced a program to reconstruct municipal streets. Similar representations to be made by other cabinet officials, despite the fact that audience continued to diminish due to the unceasing rains.
