NewsWhore
04-30-2009, 03:10 PM
A general strike by businesses, restaurants, taxis, transport, hotels and supermarkets that was scheduled to take place from Wednesday to Thursday in Cabarete was cancelled after a long meeting with the private company that is charging taxes and providing garbage removal services in Sosua and Cabarete on behalf of the city government.
Peter Orr of the Cabarete Development Association (ADECA) said that the basic agreement provides a 30-day timeframe to review what businessman Ian Schembri and lawyer Paulo Rondon want to be paid to release their "rights" to the municipality collections. Orr says that so far the public has not had access to the contract signed by the municipality granting Schembri's company the right to charge taxes, so no one can say what those "rights" are.
Orr criticizes the fact that the agreement that resulted in the strike being called off does not acknowledge the "numerous flaws" in the contracts, thus giving the impression that they are legitimate. "From that standpoint, there is no doubt that the process is going to lead to the conclusion that what Schembri and Rondon want to be paid for their rights will be more than what the community of Cabarete feels is fair they are paid to cancel the illegal contracts," he comments. "The agreement does not stipulate any process to get over that snag. Then we are going to be in the same place as we are now, in a month's time".
"Unless we can get a court hearing in our case calling for the annulment of the resolutions of the Municipality and the contracts," he says.
The Federation for a Sustainable Cabarete (FCS) comments that the city council group is a relatively new organization that is collecting millions in taxes while still trying to figure out its role in Cabarete's everyday life. FCS says that it would get the support of the community and local businesspeople when the people see how the money collected is invested back in the community.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#12)
Peter Orr of the Cabarete Development Association (ADECA) said that the basic agreement provides a 30-day timeframe to review what businessman Ian Schembri and lawyer Paulo Rondon want to be paid to release their "rights" to the municipality collections. Orr says that so far the public has not had access to the contract signed by the municipality granting Schembri's company the right to charge taxes, so no one can say what those "rights" are.
Orr criticizes the fact that the agreement that resulted in the strike being called off does not acknowledge the "numerous flaws" in the contracts, thus giving the impression that they are legitimate. "From that standpoint, there is no doubt that the process is going to lead to the conclusion that what Schembri and Rondon want to be paid for their rights will be more than what the community of Cabarete feels is fair they are paid to cancel the illegal contracts," he comments. "The agreement does not stipulate any process to get over that snag. Then we are going to be in the same place as we are now, in a month's time".
"Unless we can get a court hearing in our case calling for the annulment of the resolutions of the Municipality and the contracts," he says.
The Federation for a Sustainable Cabarete (FCS) comments that the city council group is a relatively new organization that is collecting millions in taxes while still trying to figure out its role in Cabarete's everyday life. FCS says that it would get the support of the community and local businesspeople when the people see how the money collected is invested back in the community.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#12)