Jose Joaquin Puello, the president of the Dominican Olympic Committee, expects a first disbursement of RD$8 million from the government this week for the preparation of the nation’s best athletes. Puello said that the government has committed payments of RD$3 million a month and the first installment is expected in April. Puello disputed statements by former president of the Olympic Committee, Wiche Garcia Saleta, that the Pan Am Games experience would be a humiliating one for Dominican athletes. He also disputes that the Games will cost the Dominican people RD$5,000 million. See http://www.dr1.com/daily/news032701.shtml He announced that all is ready for the signing of the contract with the Spanish firm MSL that will be providing the technology for the Games. The awarding of the contract to MSL was disputed by Sema, which alleged irregularities in the way the selection process was handled. These were denied by Puello. Furthermore, Puello told Hoy newspaper that the granting of television rights to CBC (Canada), TWI (United States) or the firm that had the TV rights to the Sydney Olympics is a priority of the Committee. He explained the TV rights need to be decided before the signing of the Games marketing contract with Meridiam. The Meridiam contract is for US$300,000 and the US company will receive 20% of all contracted advertising. Puello said that the Committee has prepared a RD$6 million promotional campaign to involve the Dominican people in the spirit of the Games.
