The president of the Association of Merchants and Manufacturers of Santiago (ACIS), Sandy Filpo proposed the government do many things differently. In an interview with Diario Libre newspaper, he recommended decentralizing government and public investment.
In the interview, he suggested the Ministry of Agriculture relocate to the center of the country in order to be closer to where more of the farms are located. Right now the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters are in the capital city of Santo Domingo that is equidistant for southwestern and central farm areas.
Filpo backed the construction of a cross-island railroad but says the construction should start in Puerto Plata, and not in Santo Domingo.
ACIS board member Marcos Santana also backs the construction of a new road connecting Puerto Plata and Santiago that would cut the driving time to 25-30 minutes. At present, the drive takes over an hour. He says the quicker road would mean more tourists arriving by cruise ship to Puerto Plata could make day trips to Santiago.
Santana would like the government to apply strategies so that the economic growth bonanza reach more people. He observed paramount should be achieving greater happiness of the Dominican people. He remarked the people of Costa Rica, with a per capita of US$14,000 are happier than those of Singapore, with a per capita of US$56,000.
Sandy Filpo of ACIS says that the cost of transport, energy, the low purchasing power of the population and the lack of infrastructures are challenges to be met. He criticized that Dominican governments over the past 30 years have allowed a private company to operate as a union, creating a monopoly and resulting in the most expensive cargo transport in the Central American region.
He called for the renovation of the closer Manzanillo Port in northwestern Montecristi for cargo. At present, cargo needs to be shipped from ports in Santo Domingo, at a much higher cost. He observed the port is delayed because of conflicts of interests.
He mentioned the high energy costs that represent 15 to 30% of company costs. He said Santiago has the highest energy costs in the Central American region.
He also remarked the increasing number of Indian and Chinese businesses that are operating in the Santiago commercial areas.
Filpo says ACIS backs the reclassifying of companies as part of updating the Labor Code. He says the labor representatives had agreed to discuss this after the approval of the past minimum wage increase, but this did not happen. He alerts that companies are already automating production. “When a businessman discovers that a robot brings fewer problems and is more efficient than a human, what is he going to do?” He observed an Oxford University study indicates that of 942 professions and occupations, 48% will disappear. He says the DR will be feeling this in the next five to 10 years.
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Diario Libre
Diario Libre
22 May 2019