Businessman Fernando Capellan, whose companies employ 14,000 persons, told the Listin Diario newspaper several ways the government could help make light manufacturing in the DR more competitive and thus create many needed jobs. He commented that first the government needs to rid itself of the traditional anti-exporter bias. Also, customs inspections must be sped up and obsolete methods put aside. He said ways have to be found to reduce the high cost of power which, at 16 cents per kilowatt/hour, the second highest in Latin America. He urged the government to reduce the bureaucracy that Asian businessmen have to go through to get visas for their staff and to do business here. He also says local competitiveness is hampered by the rigidness of the labor code that limits flexibility in work schedules. He urged the government to rule in favor of differentiated work schedules and wages for the most impoverished areas, such as the border, to motivate businesses to set up operations in these areas. Capellan also said that Dominican universities need to start focusing on specifically training the kind of workers the free zones need.
