Archive for March, 2019
On Sunday night, 3 March 2019, five Haitian soccer players died and 38 were injured in a traffic accident on the Jarabacoa-La Vega road, when a bus full of passengers fell off a bridge. News reports say that the driver of the bus and another person were the only Dominicans accompanying the team.
The regional health director for Central Cibao, Freddy Abba confirmed that of the 38 injured 22 were taken to the Luis Morillo King Public Hospital, along with the deceased, and 16 went to the Juan Bosch Trauma Hospital. He said that several had serious and life-threatening head injuries.
Those who died were Haitians and it appears they were returning to Maimon, Monseñor Nouel after competing in Jarabacoa. They were identified as Peterson Clermont, Calix David, Jacques Joseph, Eventz Julmist. Joanes Augustin also died in the Morillo King Hospital in La Vega.
The accident occurred in the El Puerto de Jarabacoa area, when the driver lost control and the bus crashed into a tree. Reportedly, the bus driver was speeding and the bus was in deteriorated condition, including its aging tires.
The president of the Sporting Football Club Maimón, Celsius Amiscar called for an investigation of the 30-year old driver, Eddy Evaristo Peralta González. Reports are that the driver ejected himself from the bus, saving himself.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Mar 5, 2019
Bank have cleared their acquisition of 97.44% stake in the Banco Dominicano del Progreso. The Scotiabank is now the fourth largest full-service bank in the Dominican Republic in terms of assets with a market share of 10%.
Scotiabank now expects to double its customer base through the transaction from about 250,000 to 500,000 and gain a third-place ranking in the credit card segment in the Caribbean country with a 17% share of the market.
Banco Dominicano del Progreso’s operations include 57 branches, 184 automated banking machines (ABMs) and over 160 banking sub-agents, serving over 250,000 personal and commercial banking customers.
Source: DR1, compelo
Mar 5, 2019
A study carried out by the Juan Bosch Foundation and the Development Cooperation Institute (ISCOS in Italian) has revealed that 47% of Dominicans are living below the poverty line. The study is called “The analysis of the announcements made by President Danilo Medina and a comparison to the real numbers in terms of employment, salaries, poverty and pensions”, and is based on figures from the Central Bank. The report concluded that the , the average income per person/household was RD$4,644 in 2016.
The report states that between 2014 and 2017 some 380,608 new jobs were created, of which 47% were in the informal sector and in 2017, some 121,066 new jobs were created of which 66.7% were informal, that is they are part of an economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.
Comparing the data provided by President Medina, in his state of the nation speech on 27 of February 2019, they said that 60% of people have an average income of RD$11,734 that is below the cost of the cheapest family basket which is RD$13,346.
Matías Bosch Carcuro, Edgar García and Cabrera Airon Fernández said that the majority of the Dominican working population earn much less than is needed to survive with 80% earning less than RD$17,000 that is much less than the average family basket estimated at RD$23,422. They criticized that President Danilo Medina had announced the public sector minimum wage would be doubled to RD$10,000 when the amount does not even cover the cheapest family basket.
Source: DR1, Eldia
Mar 5, 2019
Minister of Energy and Mines Antonio Isa Conde said that the low ranking of the Dominican Republic in the Fraser Institute 2018 annual survey of mining and exploration companies is due to the objectionable history of some mining companies that has led to a generalized rejection of mining operations in the country. The Dominican Republic is ranked 76th of 83 countries as one of the least attractive jurisdictions for mining in the world. Sharing the bottom 10 with the Dominican Republic are Neuquen, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, China, Ethiopia, Dominican Republic, La Rioja, and Bolivia.
The survey is described by the institute as an attempt to assess how mineral endowments and public policy factors such as taxation and regulatory uncertainty affect exploration investment. The survey responses rank provinces, states, and countries according to the extent that public policy factors encourage or discourage mining investment.
Energy and Mines Minister Isa Conde explained the low ranking: “”The difficulties for investment in the mining sector have been generated by the anti-mining culture, fed by some political sectors and by environmental fundamentalists and that has its origin in a traumatic past, which has done a lot of damage to the this country and potential investors.
The Minister refers to the “the law of the funnel”, in which the state has historically received little and the communities around these mines even less, as compensation for the exploitation of the riches of the earth. This has resulted in creating distrust among the local people and has affected the willingness of investor to commit.
In his opinion, another unfavorable factor has been the environmental liability left by the unchecked mining of the past. He said companies now are applying new technologies and production practices that impact less on the environment, allowing remediation at a quicker pace. He explained the Ministry is working on progressive legislation to give way to sustainability in the extractive industry.
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/site…anies-2018.pdf
Source: DR1, mem.gob.do
Mar 5, 2019
Hours after President Danilo Medina announced in his state of the nation address at the National Assembly on the morning of Wednesday, 27 February 2019 that crime was at an all-time record, a gang of assailants hit upon 11 people taking a stroll in the Las Praderas park area in the National District at around 4pm.
The Police were prompt in making arrests. On Sunday, 3 March 2019, Judge José Alejandro Vargas sentenced the first two of the suspects Leonel Francés Guzmán and Waldy David González de Jesús to three-months preventive custody.
What is known is that individuals assaulted at gunpoint the strolling families. The assailants then left on a motorcycle. More are sought in the case.
The families said that five masked and armed men assaulted them when they were on their Independence Day stroll in Las Praderas Park, that is located off Av. Gustavo Mejía Ricart near Av. Núñez de Cáceres.
The victims were identified as Margarita Emilia Roa Sánchez, Jonathan Bobea Roberts, Edmundo Messina Viña, Raúl Alejandro Cuevas Tejada, Diana Carolina Polanco Báez, Paola Mariel Espinosa Castro, Ricardo Ernesto Corporán Peguero, Gerda María Soro Sención, Joao Mohadib Viñas Asenjo, José Adolfo Sánchez Hernández y Zacarías Dael Garib Pimentel who said they belongings, including mobiles, jewelry and cash were stolen.
Within two hours, the National Police had arrested two of the men who admitted to their crime and identified the remaining members, at least by their nicknames: Guajiro, Jordan and Abuelo. These three are being pursued by the police.
According to the police report the five men managed to steal from 11 persons articles that included money, rings, watches, cell phones and even personal documents. This was done at around 4:30pm and by 6:30pm the Police had captured two of the assailants. The director general of the National Police, Ney Bautista Almonte, reported that the two men arrested have a long history of arrests for assaults and robberies.
Source: DR1, Elnacional
Mar 5, 2019
Are unnecessary cardiac procedures being carried out in the Dominican Republic? An article in Hoy alerts that many cardiac stent implants may be unnecessary. Doctors suspect many procedures are to cash in on insurance coverage. They say the focus should be on prevention and early detection of cardiac problems to take other measures. While lifesaving, the cardiac procedures are costly to the health system and to patients, especially because of the costly meds the patient will need to take following the procedures.
Data from the Superintendence of Health and Labor Risks (Sisalril) reveals that in the past three years in the Dominican Republic there has been a marked increased in catheterization, angioplasties and stent implants in patients who required or supposedly required a cardiovascular procedure. The ARS paid for 20,507 procedures for a total of RD$1.7 billion. This was RD$493.9 million in 2016, RD$650.7 billion in 2017 and RD$590.3 billion in 2018.
Data from only the government health provider, Senasa reveals that in the past three years, 11,701 affiliates received 6,920 catheterizations, 4,810 angioplasties and 9,842 stent implants. The medical standard is 2.2 diagnostics per stent implanted, while Senasa numbers indicate 3.5.
The report in Hoy says this is evidence of the increase in the implanting of stents in regards to catheterizations. The concern is that while the high number of interventions is due to the greater access to health services, specialists in the area who asked to reserve their names say that the stenting could be to cash in on the insurance, despite considerations of medical ethics and quality of care.
ARS directors say that the Ministry of Public Health is not supervising the quality of the procedures. Hoy reports that in 2018, at least five new catheterization centers were opened in Moca, Santiago, San Francisco de Macoris and La Romana.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Mar 5, 2019
Reporter Carlos M. Batista of Diario Libre reveals just how much damage is being done to the very unique Los Haitises National Park. The park is protected under laws 202-04 and 64-00 as well as by Articles 14 and 16 of the Dominican Constitution. None of this really matters, reports Batista.
He highlighted in the feature that because of its location besides the Samana Bay and its dense forests, the area attracts clouds that deliver rains that are stored in the underground caverns of that national park. The Los Haitises National Park is a limestone karst plateau with conical hills, sinkholes and caverns and is regarded as an important reservoir for drinking water. The area has an annual precipitation estimated at around 2,000 mm (79 in).
The importance of the park area is that the clouds it attracts also move on to other forest areas that are equally protected by laws and located in the center of the island: Valle Nuevo, Ebano Verde, Las Neblinas, J. Armando Bermudez, Montaña La Humeadora and many others.
The reporter details how he flew over the area, noting that from afar, he and his team could see the smoke from the fires of the “slash and burn” farmers and much human activity in the entire region. During the flight, the reporter took over 100 photographs of the fires, huts, and of cattle and pigs in the park where all human activity is banned.
Environmentalists have been critical of the new Environment Minister Angel Estévez, saying he is the first minister to foster agriculture over environment protection.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Mar 5, 2019
First Lady Cándida Montilla will head the Dominican sports delegation to the Special Olympics World Games that will take place in Abu Dhabi. The games will take place 8-22 March 2019. Elba Nicasio will be the chief of the 21-athlete strong Dominican team. The team will be accompanied by a support staff of 15. Dominicans will compete in athletics, bowling, open water swimming, swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, tennis, triathlon, and beach volleyball. Bowlers Anthony Hidalgo and Genesis Graciano were named the flag-bearers for the team.
The first lady has been a champion for persons with disabilities in the country. From early in the first government of her husband President Danilo Medina, Montilla spearheaded the Centro de Atención Integral para la Discapacidad (CAID) model program that is the leading educational center for persons with special needs.
In the 2015 Special Olympics World Games that took place in 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA, the Dominican Republic won three gold, three silver and three bronze in open waters, athletics, swimming, softball and triathlon competitions. Winners that year included Alejandro Batlle (triathlon), Juan Cortorreal and Reina Astrid Curiel in open waters, Daniel Fortuna in swimming.
Anthony Hidalgo is a bronze medal winner from the III Latin American Games that took place in Panama in 2017.
https://www.abudhabi2019.org/sports/world-games-2019
Source: DR1, Elnacional
Mar 5, 2019
