Dominican President Leonel Fernandez has told reporters that not only is he against taking in any debate with his fellow presidential candidates, he also considers the Central Electoral Board (JCE) proposal for a summit meeting between the leaders of the major parties and their respective candidates as "unnecessary". The PLD candidate for re-election added that he has always respected his electoral opponents and that they are the ones who should act with "morality." Fernandez said that this does not require a pact or gentlemen's agreement. What it needs, according to Fernandez is that "they behave with decency, that is all."
In a joint declaration by Eddy Martinez, head of the DR Center for Exports and Investments (DR-CEI) and Aristides Fernandez Zucco, the head of the National Energy Commission announced that Sonatrach, one of the world's top energy players, has plans to build a 150-megawatt generation plant in the DR at a cost of US$200 million. The corporation has similar projects in Peru and Africa. The DR facility would use solar power and natural gas to generate power. An Algeria state-owned company, Sonatrach is regarded as the largest company in Africa.
Despite increased public calls for continuing with fiscal supervision provided by an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the current agreement came to a close on 31 January. According to El Caribe, the key issue is whether the main economic actors will believe that the government can operate a balanced fiscal policy and, during an election process, handle public finances with prudence.
Under the IMF, the government was obliged to produce a fiscal surplus, something it no longer has to do. The IMF stipulated that the surplus had to reach at least 1.8% of GDP. The business sector, perhaps more as a "message" rather than a doable suggestion, has maintained its position on the need for a new IMF accord. The government apparently has not reached an official position on this issue, but the possibilities of reaching a new accord are very slim, at least before the 16 May election comes around. The IMF, by the very nature of its agreements, seldom has agreements lasting less than a year and is not known to negotiate such with governments that have less than a year to go in their terms. If a new agreement is needed, the negotiations will be with the elected officials.
Plagued with doubts and a lack of public confidence, the Chamber of Accounts is languishing in the shadows. With more than RD$675 billion pesos to track and keep accounts on, the Chamber is woefully short of personnel and equipment. They still work the old-fashioned way: with pencil and paper. According to Hoy newspaper, the Chamber of Accounts is historically a "warehouse full of shortened audits, secret audits and biased audits, all because of "technical weakness and political contamination." Their lack of credibility is rooted in the growing perception of corruption or impunity within the public administration and the squandering, the inefficiency and the unscrupulousness in public spending in the face of the agency's inability to produce a transparent audit when confronted with such obvious sudden wealth of questionable origins.
Reporters Minerva Isa and Eladio Pichardo look at the Chamber of Accounts and sum up the organization as "incompetent" to carry out its duties. The report in Hoy says that technology has not arrived at the entity and the RD$45 million that was budgeted for computers and software will not be forthcoming this year. According to Andres Terrero, the head of the Chamber, "we audit entities that are technologically advanced and we operate manually". One of the key issues is money.
The Chamber of Accounts (CC) requested RD$1.1 billion in this year's budget, but it was assigned only RD$423 million, a 10% increase over last year's budget but still short of the RD$792 million it is supposed to receive according to the law. The chief magistrate of the CC told the reporters, "Our auditors are not up to the level that they should have to assure the adequate use of the State's resources. I am not saying all of them, but the great majority did not enter (service) on their professional merits, but rather for political reasons and patronage. One has to pay competitive salaries and our auditors earn miserable salaries."
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) has announced the removal of 90,146 members of the armed forces who were listed as registered voters on the JCE's voting rolls in preparation for the 16 May presidential election. This concludes a process of cross-referencing the names and identification numbers of citizens who had entered the armed services and those who had left the service. This information was provided by magistrate Roberto Rosario, head of the JCE Administrative Chamber. Members of the armed services and National Police are forbidden to vote under the Dominican Constitution.
The Central Electoral Board has established the order that the political parties will appear on the 2008 Presidential Ballots. The JCE based their decision on the amount of votes garnered by each party in the 2006 municipal and congressional elections. As a result, the PLD party will have the #1 post, the PRD will have #2 and the PRSC will have #3. The other parties will be positioned in descending order. Recently, the JCE declined to recognize 13 new parties of minuscule size, since their inclusion would have required a new, much enlarged version of the ballot. The JCE also agreed that when two or more parties decide to join together in an alliance, they must do so in writing, and hold national conventions in order to take such decisions.
The Venezuelan ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Francisco Belisario Landis, said that his country was considering the possibility of exchanging Dominican poultry and eggs for oil. Ambassador Landis said that such a deal would be within the framework of the Petrocaribe Agreement. According to Listin Diario, the ambassador said that he had sent his proposal to Dominican Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso. Meanwhile, yet another commission from neighboring Haiti is visiting the Dominican Republic to inspect sanitary processes in the poultry industry. According to some analysis, it would take approximately 45.5 processed chickens to pay for a barrel of oil at today's prices. Even at half the price, if Dominican oil consumption is pegged at 100,000 barrels per day, it would take over two million chickens to pay for a day's worth of oil (or more than 15 million eggs).
Although the exact numbers were not given to the press, Ministry of Agriculture officials were back in Higuey and killed several more birds in the training stations for fighting cocks, according to the latest reports. The birds were placed in plastic bags and buried in an eight-foot hole. Meanwhile, Listin Diario reported that in the southwestern border town of Pedernales, sales of poultry and eggs were at their usual levels. However, in Jimani and Dajabon, two much larger export points, sales were minimal and the boycott and ban on Dominican poultry and eggs continued to be strictly enforced.
Puerto Rico removed the ban on poultry and egg exports from the DR but is investigating, following calls that the infected birds had clandestinely been shipped into the DR on a yacht that came from Puerto Rico.
There will be no market day in Dajabon today, in protest against the Haitian government's ban on poultry and egg imports from the Dominican Republic. The municipality of Dajabon passed the resolution to halt the Market Day. On Market Days, between 8,000 and 10,000 Haitians cross the border to purchase goods in the open-air market, and tourists flock to the city to watch the spectacle. Father Regino Martinez told Diario Libre that the problems are not bio-sanitary, but political. He expressed some concern that the situation could get out of hand since Haitians prefer Dominican products for their quality and freshness and the Dominicans need the market sales. The good Father warned, "If they maintain the restrictions, people will find a way to keep business going no matter what."
The National Police Anti-Kidnapping Squad has rescued a man who had been taken from his home in Santo Domingo in December. The victim was found in Santiago and the police arrested Miguel Agustin Cabrera, Albert Andres Gonzalez Reyes and Osiris Lorenzo Mejia Vargas in connection with the case. A spokesman for the Central Cibao Police Headquarters, Colonel Jesus Cordero, told reporters from Listin Diario that the men arrested have been accused of kidnapping Porfirio de Jesus Agront on 11 December, for whom they were demanding a ransom of US$150,000.
More than 60 suspected criminals have been killed during exchanges of gunfire, following armed robberies and attacks, according to police sources. Most of the incidents have been registered in Santo Domingo or Santiago. According to Hoy newspaper, last December alone 52 suspected criminals were killed in shootouts with the police. During the same period, a total of 72 ordinary citizens lost their lives at the hands of criminals, according to the Attorney General's office website. According to sources that reported to Hoy, between last Thursday and last Saturday the police shot dead at least eight people, but the upswing in muggings and robberies continues. The police are looking for thieves who mugged Alejandro Burgos and took RD$450,000 and US$300 from him in broad daylight at the corner of Winston Churchill and Independencia. Other check cashers near the National Lottery offices have stepped up security measures following the recent incident.
Lawyer Fabio Guzman, who monitors the DR1 Forums legal section, has published a book with inside stories about practicing law in Salcedo and San Francisco based on accounts by his father, Antonio Guzman Lopez (1906-2001). The 360-page book is the first in a series from the Gaceta Judicial legal publications company, recently acquired by the Guzman Ariza law firm.
The publication of the memoirs coincides with the 80th anniversary of Guzman legal firm, one of the better known in the Cibao region. "Memorias de un Abogado de Pueblo," features several very interesting episodes in contemporary history, as witnessed by the late lawyer. His story begins in 1906.
The book describes Salcedo and San Francisco de Macoris in the early 20th century, what it was like to study law at the university in Santo Domingo in the 1920s, his father's relationship and unlikely partnership with Pelegrin Castillo (father of the legendary Marino Vinicio "Vincho" Castillo), which besides practicing law, involved going from town to town in the Cibao in 1930 demonstrating against Trujillo, ending when Castillo went into exile in 1931, what it was like to practice law under the Trujillo dictatorship, a personal account of Dominican politics from 1961 to 1985, as well as reflections on the practice of law in the DR.
The book, written in Spanish, is for sale at Centro Cuesta del Libro and from Gaceta Judicial (809 540-3455).
For many Dominicans, this is the time of year for getting out their "winter wear." The light rains and the continued low temperatures are, according to the Meteorological Office, scheduled to continue for a few more days. Forecasters say that the situation is caused by the remnants of a cloud cover that was part of a frontal system that passed through here this past week. Small craft operating in Samana, off the north coast and in the Mona Passage are advised to be aware of possible high seas. In Constanza, the temperature dropped below 0 degrees Celsius, and the lowest temperatures since 1970 were recorded in Santo Domingo.
The Santiago Federation of Lechones and Comparsas staged a "warm-up" yesterday in the area of the Las Carreras Avenue and the Monument, in Santiago. Together with the Caribbean Baseball Series, the city was alive with activities. The different Comparsas and groups of Lechones (Devils) trooped from St. Luis Street up to the Monument along Las Carreras Avenue. More than 70 different groups were represented. On 24 February the main shindig will take place along the same route. Everyone from the AMET to the Armed Forces joined in keeping order along the parade route. According to provincial governor Jose Izquierdo, the idea is "to revive the splendor of the Dominican Republic's most beautiful and spontaneous carnival". There will be another "warm-up" next week, too.
Catch carnival parades every weekend in Santiago, La Vega and Bonao.
La Cadena supermarket is advertising RD$159.95 for a gallon of Crisol oil products for today.
Arte San Ramon, the picture framers, has a 25-50% anniversary sale at their Abraham Lincoln and Romulo Betancourt branches.
Baccessory, bath accessory store, has a sale at its Lope de Vega 37 location in Naco. 15% off all items, and 50% off selected items.
Cerarte ceramics store is advertising sales from 4-15 February at their 27 de Febrero 359 store.
Onemax Internet service is offering the first month of service free with the purchase of the service between 4 and 18 February.
The 50th edition of the Caribbean Series got off to a great start for the two Dominican teams that are competing. The Tigres del Licey, who are substituting in the absence of Puerto Rico, defeated the Tigres de Aragua from Venezuela, 6-2, in the opening game of the series on Saturday. The Tigres del Licey built a 5-1 lead by the fifth inning and were never overcome by their rivals. Ronnie Belliard produced four of the six runs for the Licey team, and Jose Capellan pitched five innings of sterling baseball to get the win. In the second game of the evening, home team Aguilas Cibaenas gave the visiting Yaquis de Obregon (Mexico) a lesson in power baseball, winning 13-6. Big leaguer Miguel Tejada, known as the "guagua" (bus), hit two homeruns to take the all-time leadership in this category.
On Sunday, it took the Tigres del Licey 11 innings to defeat the Yaquis de Obregon, 2-1. Both Licey runs were produced by Jose Bautista, first with a homerun in the second inning and then with a sacrifice fly in the eleventh. The game was marked by magnificent pitching by Nelson Figueroa, winner of two games for the Aguilas Cibaenas in the finals of the Dominican Championship and now pitching for Mexico's team. Figueroa pitched 9 1/3 innings, throwing 118 pitches and allowing only one run. In the second game, the Aguilas managed a 3-1 victory over the Tigres de Aragua from Venezuela. Brayan Pena, the first pick in the "reinforcement draft" came through with two hits and a run scored. Rafael Furcal, Edwin Encarnacion and Mendy Lopez each brought home a run for the Aguilas, the defending series champions.
Tonight's games
Place: Estadio Cibao
* Time: 4pm
Venezuela: G. German (RH )
Mexico: D. Serafin (RH)
* Time: 8pm
Licey (DR2): R. Ortiz
Aguilas (DR1) : F. Castro
Tomorrow:
Venezuela vs. Licey (DR2) at 4pm
Aguilas vs. Mexico at 8pm
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