TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2011
Nicaragua News Bulletin (May 10, 2011)
1. Corruption investigations ordered2. World Court issues ruling
3. NDI trains youth and women
4. Renewable energy advances
5. Developments in affordable housing
6. Rural workers rights still have a long way to go
7. Turtle project sees success
8. URAACAN-Nueva Guinea graduates 99
9. Nicaragua free of hog cholera
1. Corruption investigations ordered
On May 3, President Daniel Ortega ordered the National Police to begin a permanent investigation of all the institutions of the government, according to the head of the National Police, Aminta Granera. She said the investigations will be carried out by the Police's Directorate of Economic Investigations. She added that the Police will work in support of the Office of the Comptrollers General of the Republic in its investigation of the General Directorate of Revenue (DGI) around which accusations of fraud have flown in recent weeks.
Presidential economic advisor Bayardo Arce said, “It's clear that there are anomalies there [in the DGI]. That is precisely why the President has ordered an investigation.” He noted that there were reports of grave mismanagement and misuse of public funds under former DGI director Walter Porras whose removal was ordered by the President. The newspaper La Prensa reported allegations that Porras and several people close to him created a network that defrauded the government of at least US$67 million. Arce said that the upper echelons of the tax office have been restructured “to prevent mishandling of funds.” In a meeting with the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), Arce said that none of the businesses affiliated with COSEP had been involved with the fraudulent activities of the DGI.
Meanwhile, there were reports that Police' Economic Investigation Directorate was also investigating the national customs agency and the Managua municipal government. La Prensa reported that an anonymous source told the daily that the investigations at Managua city hall “are serious” and were the result of direct orders from Ortega. Rumors were flying that the general secretary of the Managua city government, Fidel Moreno, had been removed by Sandinista leaders. (The Managua city hall is in the control of the FSLN.)
However, Managua Mayor Daysi Torres said that Moreno was at his post and, on May 6, Ortega's office released a communiqué expressing support for Torres and Moreno “against whom campaigns of defamation have been waged.” On May 9, Moreno said that the Comptrollers' Office was carrying out “a series of processes at the request of the Mayor's Office” but that there was no Police investigation. He said that authorities had detected a series of irregularities amounting to US$160,000 committed by two former officials who have been charged in the case. (Radio La Primerisima, May 3, 7, 9; La Prensa, May 3, 6; El Nuevo Diario, May 7)
2. World Court issues ruling
On May 4, the International Court of Justice (World Court) at The Hague rejected petitions from Costa Rica and Honduras to intervene in a dispute before the Court between Nicaragua and Colombia over maritime territory. Costa Rica had not requested to be a party to the case but rather to intervene based on concern that the area under dispute borders its territory. Honduras had petitioned to be a party to the case based on a treaty with Colombia on maritime territory that could be affected by the Court's eventual decision. The Court ruled that in the case of Costa Rica there was no possibility that its territory could be affected and in the case of Honduras the Court said that a 2007 decision had resolved any issues.
Nicaragua's ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos Argüello said that the decision was a victory for Nicaragua but that it slowed down the decision of the Court on the merits of the case for a year.
In 1928 President Adolfo Diaz, under pressure from the United States (which occupied Nicaragua at the time), ceded to Colombia the archipelago of San Andres and Providencia. In 2001, Nicaragua went to court to get the islands back. The World Court, however, ruled in 2007 that the islands belonged to Colombia but also ruled (in support of Nicaragua's position) that the 82nd meridian west longitude is not the maritime border between the two countries. The court agreed to determine what that border is and the case is scheduled to conclude in 2012. (La Prensa, May 4; Radio La Primerisima, May 4; El Nuevo Diario, May 5)
3. NDI trains youth and women
On May 5, 416 young people received certificates in Political Leadership and Management upon completing a nine month course sponsored by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), a core group of the National Endowment for Democracy. Silvia Gutierrez, speaking in representation of the graduates from political parties, said that the great challenge is to put in practice a new political culture that includes tolerance for those who do not share one's ideas. Ludwin Loaisiga, a journalist at La Prensa, speaking for those from civil society organizations, said the time had come to build a different Nicaragua not marked by conflicts and strongmen (caudillos).
US Ambassador Robert Callahan spoke at the graduation ceremony noting that it was thanks to US$2 million from the United States Agency for International Development that the young people were able to attend the course. The director of the NDI in Nicaragua, Felix Ulloa, announced that registration was open for the second edition of the course. Other contributors to the program were the Institute for Development and Democracy (IPADE), the American University (UAM), the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean and Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua (URAACAN), and the Graduate School of Political Management of George Washington University (in the United States).
In another NDI program, thirty women leaders belonging to the Conservative Party participated in a leadership training course to prepare women to hold leadership posts in the Conservative Party and to run for office under the party's banner. Conservative Party leader Azalia Aviles said that women should not be merely waving flags or posting flyers but holding party office.
The Nicaragua Network notes that programs run by the core groups of the National Endowment for Democracy (funded by the US Congress) promote a vision of democracy that favors the interests of transnational corporations headquartered in the United States. Core groups of the NED have been involved in the destabilization and overthrow of governments that US corporations did not like and, in fact, the NED was founded expressly to carry out actions overtly that the CIA had done in the past covertly. To read more about the National Endowment for Democracy, visit http://afgj.org/?page_id=311. The Nicaragua Network is taking a delegation to Nicaragua in June to investigate US government involvement in the November elections. (La Prensa, May 5, 8,)
4. Renewable energy advances
Nicaragua is continuing to convert its electric power production from oil fueled generators to renewable energy sources including wind, thermal and hydro. According to Emilio Rappaccioli, minister of Energy and Mines, projects that will come online over the next two to three years will add at least 220 megawatts of cheaper renewable energy to the national grid. Nicaragua's current demand of 540 megawatts is 70% petroleum fueled. The projects that will come online include three wind farms, two hydroelectric projects, and an increase in the capacity of the San Jacinto Tizate geothermal plant. Some of this capacity will enter the grid by the end of 2011.
Wind power will account for 107 megawatts of power, including 40 megawatts from a project funded by ALBANISA, the non-governmental corporation formed to direct money for social development by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA). The feasibility study for that project is nearly complete. Upgrading thermal power production at San Jacinto Tizate will add another 72 megawatts between this year and next. Two hydroelectric projects, Hidropantasma and Larreynaga will generate 30 megawatts of electricity combined. The hydroelectric projects are being financed by a US$63.23 million dollar loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) and the state-owned Nicaraguan Electricity Company (ENEL). (La Prensa, May 7; Radio La Primerisima, May 9)
5. Developments in affordable housing
The government is set to raise the ceiling on the value of affordable housing that qualifies for government subsidy because of recent increases in the cost of building materials. Organizations representing builders are asking for changes that would allow a government subsidy for houses with a value of less than US$30,000. The current ceiling is US$20,000. The subsidy from the National Housing Plan is for houses that are smaller than 645 sq. feet. The government has signed an agreement with the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) to carry out a study of construction costs to decide whether to modify the parameters of the program. Presidential advisor Bayardo Arce said, “It appears that with the impact of the price of petroleum and international inflation, the US$20,000 houses have become out of date.” Builder Mario Zelaya said that, if changes are not made, “many Nicaraguans will not be able to buy a house.”
On the other hand, outside of Managua, some builders say they are planning housing projects with small basic houses for between US$9,000 and US$14,000 for sale to families with monthly incomes of US$350 to US$500. Alfonso Silva of the Chamber of Developers (CADUR) said, “The law permits public-private alliances. City governments can set aside some land, invest in infrastructure, we can build the housing, and the banks can use some of the resources that the government has set aside [for this purpose].” He added that “a free trade zone worker earns about US$250 per month and if there are two workers in a family, they can afford one of these houses.” Under current law, low income families can purchase houses costing less than US$20,000 at subsidized interest rates of between 4.5% and 5.5%. (La Prensa, May 3, 5; Radio La Primerisima, May 3)
6. Rural workers rights still have a long way to go
Currently, there are very few Ministry of Labor inspectors covering the Northern rural part of Nicaragua, leaving farm workers rights largely unregulated. For example, in Jinotega just three inspectors have the responsibility of inspecting 7,000 farms. According to Yolanda Areas of the Farm Workers Association (ATC), this has led to the near total disregard for many of the rules. Workers rarely receive the meat that farm owners are required to provide with each midday meal. The law says that, if owners do not provide this food, workers should be compensated in pay; however, this regulation too goes unfulfilled.
Areas said that concerns have been raised about the fact that only 3,000 permanent (as opposed to seasonal) rural laborers, out of a workforce of over 15,000, are in the social security system, which covers health care and retirement benefits. Many farm owners consider paying into social security to be an unnecessary expense given the low wages of the farm workers. Areas noted that, while national health care is free at government health centers, many medicines are not available at those centers and the workers who are not insured under Social Security then have to pay for them. The ATC is working with the Ministry of Labor to bring the inspectors out to the farms and to incorporate farm workers little by little into the social security system, a difficult task given current conditions. (Radio La Primerisima, May 6)
7. Turtle project sees success
A ten year project to preserve sea turtles is bearing fruit on Juan Venado Island in the Department of Leon, with the launching into the Pacific Ocean of 15,000 Leatherbacks, Green Sea, and Olive Ridley turtles, all of which are endangered. The project of protecting the sea turtles and reforesting the mangrove swamps is administered by the National Autonomous University-Leon in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, local authorities, and international groups including Flora and Fauna International from England. Juan Venado Island is the second largest turtle breeding ground in Nicaragua after the beach at Chacocente.
Biologist Pedrarias Dávila directs the Juan Venado program. He explained that most of the turtles hatched by the program are Olive Ridley with the rest Leatherback and Green Sea. He has spent 30 years working to preserve endangered sea turtles and is proud of the role the program is playing. Between 500 and 600 female turtles lay their eggs on the Juan Venado Island beach each year.
Juan Venado Island was ceded to the university ten years ago and is visited throughout the year by Nicaraguan and foreign scientists who carry out studies of its diverse flora and fauna. (El Nuevo Diario, May 9)
8. URAACAN-Nueva Guinea graduates 99
On April 30 the seventh graduation from the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast-Nueva Guinea (URAACAN-Nueva Guinea) saw 99 young people realize their dreams to earn degrees in engineering, business, and education. The autonomous university at Nueva Guinea opened 14 years ago and has graduated 700 students in the region of the country previously underserved by the nation's education system. Alta Hooker, president of the four university system on the Caribbean Coast gave the graduation address. She emphasized the importance of multi-cultural higher education in the strengthening of the identity of each of the ethnic groups of the region as well as respect for the cultures of all. She also noted that, “The university offers programs that permit us to administer our own natural resources for the good of all without the need to bring in qualified personnel from abroad.” The university is seeking funding to open a Masters program in mathematics.
In other Caribbean Coast education news, the University of Business Science in Managua signed a collaborative agreement with the Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University for the development of courses to be taught over the internet and designed to facilitate local development. (El Nuevo Diario, May 7)
9. Nicaragua free of hog cholera
On May 13, Nicaragua will be declared free from classical swine fever (also known as hog cholera), a development expected to give a push to exports of hogs and pork products. Epidemiologist Marvin Rodriguez of the Ministry of Agriculture said, “After great efforts throughout our national territory we have arrived at the conclusion that the virus of classical swine fever is no longer in circulation.” An epidemiological study by Nicaraguan and international agencies confirmed the absence of the disease. Rodriguez said that for the last four years the Ministry has been carrying out a vaccination campaign against the disease which affects both domestic pigs and wild peccaries. Milton Arcia, president of the pork growers association, said, “The eradication of this pest is a success for Nicaragua because… for 30 years we have not been able to export pork.” (El Nuevo Diario, May 7; Radio La Primerisima, May 6)
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