JUNE 2008

Ecologists want better handing of dams

To prevent another tragedy

SANTIAGO. – Faced with the beginning of the hurricane season, the Cibao Ecological Society (SOECI) proposes a permanent session of the Dam Management Commission to prevent another tragedy like the one occurred last December 12 in this province, newspaper Listin Diario reports.

SOECI president Eduardo Rodriguez said the entities related to the environment and natural resources must integrate that Commission, and meet urgently adopt preventive measures and establish a monitoring mechanism for Tavera, Bao and Lopez Angostura dams.

He said knowing the amount of rainfall in the zones that supply those dams is key to quickly inform the public and to lower their level, not to as low as 317 meters above sea level. In that manner levels from 317 to 327.5 would have around 10 vertical meters, and each meter means around 16 million cubic meters of water.

Rodriguez said all that is influenced by the deterioration of the North Yaque River’s upper basin, which makes it necessary to control the dams’ levels, a measure which he said must be applied in the medium term.

He added that the river basin must be rehabilitated for the soil and forests to retain the water which now rushes towards the dams.

Dominican Today, 02.06.08

Repair of the streets in the districts of Santiago

The inhabitants claim the continuation of work

Santiago. - Residents of several sectors of Cienfuegos required from the authorities of Public works to start again in an immediate way the rebuilding works of the various streets crossing this zone, which were abandoned a few days before the elections.

Families living in the districts of la Unión, Monte Bonito, La Piña, San Lorenzo, San Antonio and other of Cienfuego indicated that before the presidential elections of last May 16, the men who worked in the mentioned sectors left and then until now, they did not come back.

This worries the inhabitants who affirm that they had the hope of being able to walk and circulate in less dusty and less chaotic streets.

In each district mentioned, the quantity of streets remaining without being repaired oscillates between five and eight; this is why the inhabitants asked the authorities the fast work resumption.

They indicated that in spite of the information emitted by the provincial government with regard to work and its fast resumption, they do not rely on the fact that the things occurred like this.

However, they will leave the time necessary so that material indicated for this work arrives to the country but they announced that they will not wait for long time.

El Libelo, by Luz Bregman, 03.06.08

Big business eyes railway linking two largest Dominican cities

Santiago and Santo Domingo

SANTIAGO.- The north region business leaders grouped in the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and Production yesterday said they support construction of a railway to link Santiago and Santo Domingo.

In a statement Chamber president Carlos Fondeur said there’s a high enough freight and passenger flow between both cities to justify the project. In the present context of fuel increases a new rail line would contribute to the economic activity’s competitiveness.

He said the project would resume a service which already existed in the beginning of the 1900s, but its absence at present has significantly limited the country’s development.

Fondeur said the country deserves an important impulse in road infrastructure investment and in Santiago’s case, it’s the North Bypass avenue, a demand of more than one decade, which will so benefit the towns Villa González, Tamboril and Licey.

President Leonel Fernandez recently said in Rome that his Government studies the possibility of building a railway to link Santo Domingo with Santiago, with joint private sector and government funding.

Dominican Today, 06.06.08

Contractors and managers of Santiago ask for sacrifices on behalf of the government

To support the productive sector

The president and the general secretary of The Association of the Storekeepers and the Industrialists of Santiago (ACIS), Luis Núñez and Sandy Filpo, highlighted the need for supporting the productive sector of the country to replace the imports.

And also to support the access to the credit of the productive sector, which would contribute to the creation of employment and could increase the purchasing power of the citizens.

Filpo estimated that the government must be sacrificed by making saving and must lower the current expenses, for consequently needing fewer resources to be operational and must also lower the tax pressure.

By lowering the tax pressure, he added, it will produce a levelling in sectors as important as fuels, in the same way it could create stimulations so that the productivity becomes less expensive and that the country is better placed on the competitiveness level.

It is necessary to produce for national consumption and to export he indicated.

The norms of the banks do not allow it, he underlined. He indicated that it is easier to obtain a credit for the purchase of a « jeepeta » for million pesos, that to change the machines of a company or to invest in the agro-industrial sector.

He posed the need for creating guarantee funds for the small and medium companies. Filpo said that the majority of the Dominican companies are included in the category of the small and medium companies and count between 40 and 150 employees.

He also underlines that every day the country exports less. One needs to create an exporting culture; it is the only way of creating the jobs and the resources which one needs in the field. It is by promoting exports that one will be able to decrease the breach of the great deficit in the balance of payments, he specified.

He also posed the need for supporting the agricultural processing industry, because there exists a great potential in the country.

The ACIS

It is a regional institution with a national incidence. It is the first employers’ institution founded in the country after the dismissal of the dictatorship of Rafaël Trujillo.

It gathers the productive sectors of the area, as the bank, the agricultural processing industry, the tourist sector, the stores of the Calle del Sol and the free zone.

Santiagois the producing entity of the northern area, from Cotuí to Dajabón.

ACIS management

Luis Núñez, President
Manuel Estrella, 1er. Vice president
Guillermo León, 2do. Vice president
Sandy Filpo, general Secretary
José O. Pérez, vice Secretary
Dominicano Salcedo, Treasurer

El Listín Diario, by Fernando Quiroz, 09.06.08

The aspirations for the post of mayor are increasing

José Enrique Sued would like to continue

Santiago. - The aspirations for the post of syndic of the town of Santiago on behalf of the various parties are increasing.

For the Christian Social Reformist Party, the current mayor José Enrique Sued Sem announced his decision to continue his functions. Sued Sem was the presidential vice candidate of Amable Aristy Castro.

The reformist deputy Radhamés Fermín would be also interested by the post of syndic although he did not confirm it yet.

Within the Dominican Revolutionary Party, nobody still announced himself for the post but it is supposed that they will be the former syndic, former deputy, former senator, former governor and lawyer Víctor Méndez; as well as Héctor Domínguez (Papín), the ex pre-candidate; contractor and president of the Municipal Committee of the PRD, Andres Santos and the former mayor and lawyer, Héctor Grullón Moronta, current general secretary of the PRD of the town of Santiago.

For the Party of the Dominican Liberation, one mentions the fiscal Raúl Martínez; the former deputy and current governor José Izquierdo, who at the time of the municipal elections of 2006 was beaten by Sued and the « rosada » alliance formed by the Social Christian Reformist and the Revolutionary parties.

Other possible people are the current president of the Deputies Chamber, Julio César Valentín and the current deputy Gilberto Serulle.

The president of the Deputies Chamber, Julio César Valentín is also mentioned as possible senator candidate.

The rumour also runs that the current senator Francisco Domínguez Brito could be called by the PLD for the post of syndic. But this was however confirmed neither by the congressman nor by the PLD party.

Ulises Rodriguez, deputy and president of the Provincial Committee of the PRD in Santiago would aspire to the candidature of senator.

As for the Movement Independence, Unit and Change (MIUCA), the only person who aspires to the post of syndic is its president, Doctor Aulio José Collado Anico.

El Nuevo Diario, 11.06.08

Bienvenido Pérez launches his pre candidature for the town hall

Elections of 2010

Santiago. - Bienvenido Pérez, ex Dominican consul in New York, secretary of State without portfolio and member of the Central committee of the PLD, launched his pre candidature for the mayor position of this commune for the elections of 2010.

During a meeting which took place in the Hotel Matúm, Bienvenido Pérez discussed with leaders of the intermediate committees of the PLD, but also with friends, parents and he communicated that he aspired to represent the PLD for the municipal candidature of 2010.

Bienvenido Pérez made a major and meticulous analysis of the world-wide crisis because of the international oil prizes and food supply.

He said that if the Government and the country did not work finely during the next years, all the society would face serious problems.

In this way, he said that the Government must create some 500 or 600 thousand new jobs.

He also said that the Government must be devoted to look for a solution to the principal problems like electrical energy, housing, health and education.

He recommended investing more resources in agriculture in order to produce food for the local population and to export the surpluses on international markets like the United States, the Central America and the Caribbean.

During the meeting, several leaders of the intermediaries of the PLD expressed their disposal to work for the pre candidature of Pérez, among them Agueda Vásquez and Rolando Sánchez.

El Libelo, 13.06.08

Divino Castillo denounces

« Mafia » in Cibao with the distribution of Subsidized Gas oil

The leader of the drivers Divino Castillo denounced that civil servants of the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce jointly with trade unionists of Santiago would belong to a « Mafia » and would manage themselves the distribution of gas oil subsidized by the government for the professionals of transport.

Divino Castillo said to Diario 55 that the gas oil subsidized by the government is provided to the truckers of this town in an unworthy manner and that the distribution is transformed into a business where corruption and disorder reign.

While speaking in the name of FENATRANO, the contractor recognized that the rises of the barrel of petrol to the international level influenced the prices of black gold derived products in the country and that the transport sector will not be able to support anymore the charges inherent to the explosion in prices.

He announced that following the increase in fuels, the prices of road transport will go up in an imminent way.

Castillo indicated that the institution to which he belongs leaves a deadline in order to see which measures will be setting-up by the executive power to face this difficult situation.

Regarding that various organizations of transport at the national level would have announced that at the latest on Thursday they would increase the transport costs, Divino Castillo expressed that really the situation of the fuel prices does not predict anything good for the population but that it is still worse for the professionals of transport.

In this way, the representative of the Association of the Taxi drivers of Cibao (ASOETACI) announced that they will wait at least until Thursday before to implement any type of readjustment in their prices and that they are looking for an alternative for thus preventing that the population assumes these increases.

He revealed that to the problem they also can add the ascending prices of the various pieces for the vehicles and of the oil. Everything in his opinion decreased the quality of life of the transport workers.

Diario 55, 18.06.08

An Institution will have 812 million pesos at its disposal for the small companies

This money will benefit 25 thousand people

SANTIAGO. - The President of the Funds for Development (FONDESA), Cristian Reyna, informed that this organization will have 812.5 million pesos to be redistributed to more than 24.876 chiefs of small companies, small agricultural producers and poor families of the area of Cibao and of the border zone with the Republic of Haiti.

He advanced that 34% of the resources come from equities of FONDESA and that the remaining part will come from private sectors of the country, important banking credit lines and of international co-operation agencies of development engaged in the expansion of the finance departments of the small companies and the small rural producers.

He said that the resources for the loans were already negotiated with national and international organizations which support these sectors.

He informed that FONDESA is making important negotiations with the European Bank of Investment (BEI) and the French Agency for Development (AFD) to obtain more financial support for the programs of micro credits.

He ensured that thanks to the quality of the risks of credits, the transparency of management, the operational effectiveness and the important social and financial profitability of FONDESA, the organization will be able to have financial support and confidence of these organizations.

Cristian Reyna explained that these operations of micro financing are projected for the year 2008 and will have a great impact on the economy of the Cibao while contributing to the creation of thousands employments as well as by reinforcing already existing work stations, while contributing to the expansion of the micro company and the agricultural sectors.

This will give a lift to the regional market and will contribute to the reduction of poverty.

He explained that 40 percent of the resources of FONDESA will be invested in the rural areas and that the women will benefit of it with financings higher than 300 million pesos.

Diario Digital, 20.06.08

Fundambiente gives a diploma to 40 health promoters

Complete training

Santiago. - The Environment and Development Foundation - FUNDAMBIENTE - gave of diplomas to 40 health promoters jointly with the ANESVAD.

The graduates thanked FUNDAMBIENTE and ANESVAD for the knowledge acquired with the training proposing a large variety of subjects which will enable them to multiply these experiences in the districts that they represent in the sector of Cienfuegos.

Magdalena Arjona and Jennifer Taveras Merán spoke on behalf of the graduates and thanked as well FUNDAMBIENTE as ANESVAD for the training received on first aid, prevention of catastrophes, community diagnosis, health of the breast-feeding, health prevention, management of waste, vaccination, interpersonal communication, environment and health.

They expressed that this knowledge will be used as platform to be able to train Community chiefs and members of the districts organizations who need to be informed on these so important aspects for the safeguarding and the conservation of the health of the inhabitants of the districts.

On his side the president of the Environment and Development Foundation - FUNDAMBIENTE - Miguel Inoa, promised that this non-profit-making institution, with the economic support of ANESVAD Foundation, will continue to train women in the sector of the health promotion.

El Nuevo Diaro, 24.06.08

Dominican President seeks alliance

Against threat of food crisis

Santiago.- President Leonel Fernandez proposed yesterday a strategic alliance between the public and private sectors to successfully confront the threat the world’s energy, economic and food crisis poses for the country.

After meeting with governmental officials and farm producers in the Superior Agricultura Institute (ISA), the chief executive said food price increases not only concern the consumers but also the rest of Dominican society.

Nevertheless, Fernandez said it’s a time to work, not for laments and go ahead with a plan agreed to by all the country’s sectors. From my own experience I always know that when there’s a plan, either well articulated, or conceived, in this case agreed with an alliance between the public and private sector we have inevitably, unavoidably come out of it well in the confrontation of this crisis in the Dominican Republic.

In the event the Head of State also issued decree 243-08 to create the Food Security Council, made up of different government agencies, which Fernandez called a great step forward to confront the crisis.

Its objectives include to integrate and apply the public policies the country needs to produces enough good quality and economically viable food, and at reasonable prices for the population. It also aims to generate surpluses as reserves in the event of contingencies and exports and to bolster the system, to guarantee the right to eat for the poorest, and most vulnerable Dominicans, such as pregnant women and the aged.

Dominican Today, 27.06.08

Santiago Live