The Ministry of Environment says that it has awarded licenses for the construction of three wind parks that could produce up to 190MW of energy. The parks will be built in Bani, Oviedo and Montecristi. Environmental Minister Omar Ramirez, quoted in Listin Diario, said that the DR is the third country in the region and seventh in the world to take part in the Clean Development Mechanism project.
Environment ministers from eight countries are meeting in the DR for the Central American Commission on the Environment and Development (CCAD) conference. The ministers will be evaluating regional strategies aimed at mitigating global climate change. Attending the summit are Carlos Guerrero from El Salvador, Omar Ramirez Tejada from the DR, Luis Ferrate from Guatemala, Elvin Penner from Belize, Roberto Dobles from Costa Rica, Tomas Vaquero from Honduras, Eduardo Reyes from Panama and an unnamed representative from Nicaragua.
During the IV Conference of First Ladies of the Americas, Deborah Landey from the UN Joint Program on HIV/AIDS said only two out of five people with HIV/AIDS currently receive treatment. Dominican First Lady Margarita Cedeno Fernandez expressed concern about the fact that HIV/AIDS cases are increasing among women and children. The First Lady challenged her regional partners to take action to tackle the growing epidemic, adding that statistics indicate that poverty plays a major role in the spread of the disease. Representatives from 25 nations attended in the conference, which was held in Boca Chica.
Tax Department (DGII) government revenues as of 19 March equaled RD$52.96 billion, of which 63.3% came from taxes, according to a report in Listin Diario based on Ministry of Hacienda data. The Customs Department (DGA) also provided a large chunk of revenue with RD$12.3 billion, while the Treasury provided RD$7.144 million in revenues. Tax on income equaled RD$3.3 billion while the VAT (ITBIS) tax provided RD$10.4 billion to government revenues. According to the report, revenues are above the estimated amount of RD$33.6 billion, considering that RD$36.9 billion were collected.
See www.hacienda.gov.do/estudios_economicos/ingresos.htm
Tax Department director Juan Hernandez estimates that tax evasion in the DR is down from 46% in 2004 when he took office, to 26%. He said that the incorporation of the NCF invoice numbers resulted in 80,000 new people and companies registering as taxpayers.
Hernandez is optimistic about the downward trend in tax evasion and believes that more companies and individuals will continue to register. The program is in its first year.
According to Luisa Fernandez, director of the National Free Trade Zone Council (CNZFE), the DR's free trade zones (FTZ) have been able to recover over 40,000 jobs and more than 2,500 new jobs have been created. Fernandez says that investment in footwear has increased, as well as new ventures in some non-textile areas. Commenting on the recent reduction in exports from FTZs, Fernandez said this is not a phenomenon that is exclusive to the DR, as other countries were also affected by the competitiveness of Chinese exports.
Mike Todaro, director of the American Apparel Producers' Network, is bullish on apparel manufacturing in the DR. In an interview with Hoy newspaper he highlights the country has a good communication network, seaports and airports, and that even though production costs are higher here than in many competing countries, these are compensated by other advantages. He sees the DR as a dynamic, quick and secure supplier. He said that buyers are looking for variety and fast delivery that producing in China cannot deliver. The DR can serve companies that need a quick turnover of goods. He urged that the DR develop a country brand and a reputation as a trustworthy supplier. He explained that many companies are relocating production to the Americas to take advantage of the closer distances.
The Dominican motoconcho, the small motorbike taxis that weave dangerously in and out of city traffic, have a major impact on the Dominican economy, according to the Land Transport Office (OTTT). The OTTT estimates that motoconcho drivers make RD$325 million per day. There are some 1,350,000 motoconchos in operation around the DR.
For the second day running, the country's public hospitals were almost completely paralyzed by the doctors' strike. Doctors continued to treat patients in emergency rooms and intensive care units, but on the whole, doctors showed solidarity with the strike. The strike, despite being a strong demonstration by doctors in demand of a series of benefits, including a pay raise, has led to stalemate as government officials have been unwilling to meet the doctors' demands. Dialogue between both sides has been sparse, with neither side willing to make any concessions. Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez said that in no way would he meet with the doctors under the pressure exerted by the strikes.
Actually, Chamber of Deputies president Julio Cesar Valentin didn't reveal anything new when he said that the PLD party was no stranger to the concept of clientelism, although he did defend his party by saying that the PRD and PRSC are the founding fathers of that practice. He added that it is unfortunate that those who are criticizing the government's clientelistic practices are guilty of doing the same in the municipal governments that they control.
A summit meeting between the DR's main opposition parties yesterday ended in a joint call for the current administration to adhere to the 2008 National Budget and to cease political patronage payments. The party leaders also asked for any fiscal exemptions to be submitted to Congress for review. The four participating parties also called for all promotional messages in favor of President Leonel Fernandez's bid for reelection to be removed from institutional government advertising. The parties asked for an audit on how PLD and re-election advertising is being paid for.
The PRD, PRSC, PRI and AP presidential and vice presidential candidates attended the meeting, and also called for civil society groups to contribute to the process of naming the government officials who have been responsible for alleged misuse of public funds.
PRD candidate Miguel Vargas Maldonado, PRSC candidate Amable Aristy Castro, PRI candidate Trajano Santana and AP candidate Pedro de Jesus Candelier signed the joint declaration.
The ruling PLD party says that it will hold a large political rally on Sunday, 11 May to close its re-election campaign. The PRSC has announced that theirs will be held on Tuesday, 13 May and the PRD will hold their closing rally on Wednesday, 14 May. According to electoral law, the campaigns must close on 14 May. This week's Clave newspaper focuses on the way in which President Leonel Fernandez seems to have a comfortable lead, with most opinion polls indicating that he will win in the first round. The polls also suggest that Miguel Vargas Maldonado's candidacy for the PRD has never caught on, as his level of support has barely gone points over the minimum vote the party has maintained in elections over the years, despite staging a very expensive campaign and all the alleged corruption revelations about the Fernandez campaign. PRD campaign manager Neney Cabrera told Clave that about RD$600 million had been spent in the year-long campaign, and that the closing would cost another RD$100 million.
The 18 March Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates polls showed the PLD with 56%, PRD with 32% and the PRSC with 8%. The 12 March Greenberg-Diario Libre polls: PLD 49%, PRD 37%, PRS 9%. The 26 February Gallup Hoy poll: PLD 51.8%, PRD 34.7%, PRSC 7.5%. And the Clave Noxa-CIES poll: PLD 45%, PRD 31% and PRSC 13%.
Commenting on the present situation of the parties, political analyst Rosario Espinal predicts that the PRSC will continue to weaken and the country could end up with a two-party system. She expects the PRD to be re-launched with new ideas and leaders.
Dominican basketball player Francisco Garcia will soon be joining an exclusive group. The Sacramento Kings forward will soon become the sixth Latino player in NBA history to score more than 100 three-point shots in an NBA season. He will also become the first Dominican player to do so. At the moment Garcia has 97 three-point field goals in 249 attempts for a 39% average. Garcia, who is battling a knee injury, is slowly coming into his own, scoring 11.5 points this season with 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. These numbers are outstanding, considering that Garcia is only playing 25 minutes per contest.
The cream of world archery competitors will be in Santo Domingo for the Meteksan Archery World Cup, being held on 1-5 April. The event is organized following International Archery Federation (FITA) rules and the World Cup-EMAU (Mediterranean and European Union) rules for 2008, in both divisions: recurve and compound. The event will take place at the Parque del Este archery field, which was also used for the 2003 Pan American Games. Finals will be held Thursday through Saturday. The event is an important conditioner for athletes who are due to take part in the summer Beijing Olympics. It is hoped that some of the world's top archers will be competing.
See: www.archeryworldcup.org
Ferreteria Hache has its 25% off from 6 to 10pm, and 50% off one item from 9 to 10 pm.
Jumbo is advertising anniversary sales throughout the entire store.
Bravo is advertising plums for RD$64.95lb, apples for RD$89.95 (3lb bag), La Yogurt for RD$19.95 (6oz).
Bravo supermarket has T-bone steaks for RD$129.95lb, angus churrasco for RD$199.95lb, smoked pork ribs for RD$89.95lb.
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