NewsWhore
10-05-2010, 03:00 PM
The president of the National Hotel & Tourism Association (Asonahores) Julio Llibre has criticized Santo Domingo Mayor Roberto Salcedo's recent announcement of a US$12 million megaproject for the Malecon, especially when the Mayor had pledged to restore and clean up the Malecon as is and has not yet done so.
As reported in 7dias.com.do, Llibre said that before the government takes on megaprojects it should concentrate first on cleaning and eliminating the slum-like look of the coastal park-boulevard. He said that the Malecon is one of the city's leading tourism assets, and deserves to be kept clean. He says that the lack of proper street lighting affects security in the area and encourages prostitutes to use it as a site for seeking clients.
Mayor Roberto Salcedo recently announced the megaproject as a contribution to improving Santo Domingo's competitiveness. The project involves a southern extension to the seafront of the 14-km boulevard that stretches from the Port of Haina to the Colonial City.
Llibre says that instead, the Mayor should focus on finding short-term solutions to the most pressing problems, especially as the city government does not have funding for the proposed megaproject.
"The short-term solution is to clean and light up the Malecon. That is first and after that you can do whatever you want," he said. "That is a long-term project and you do not even have the funds for it," said Llibre.
The Asonahores president was interviewed after a meeting with the president of the Chamber of Deputies Tourism Commission, David Collado who invited him to discuss bills with incentives to stimulate maritime tourism. The same bill seeks to provide guidelines for guaranteeing and regulating free access to beaches, coasts and rivers.
Llibre said he was speaking out because the private sector needs to demand that the authorities fulfill their responsibilities, as reported in Diario Libre.
He acknowledged that the CDEEE was working on the lighting of the Malecon, and that Politur has increased its patrols and security in the Colonial City and along the Malecon.
The Secretary General of the city government, Domingo Contreras told Diario Libre that since 2002, the current administration of the city of Santo Domingo has remodeled the Malecon, mentioning the removal of shacks and the construction of the Plaza Juan Baron (a private initiative).
In an op-ed piece about the many lies told by the current government officials in yesterday's Hoy newspaper, Hamlet Hermann was critical of the announcement of the US$12 million project. "To lie is to be a hypocrite," wrote Hermann, who set up the AMET force. "As when Mayor Roberto Salcedo wins the Pinocchio Award for declaring that he will renovate 12 kilometers of the city's Malecon when in five years he has not been capable of rebuilding the small Hostos Park."
http://www.hoy.com.do/opiniones/2010/10/3/344554/Vivir-en-la-mentira
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
As reported in 7dias.com.do, Llibre said that before the government takes on megaprojects it should concentrate first on cleaning and eliminating the slum-like look of the coastal park-boulevard. He said that the Malecon is one of the city's leading tourism assets, and deserves to be kept clean. He says that the lack of proper street lighting affects security in the area and encourages prostitutes to use it as a site for seeking clients.
Mayor Roberto Salcedo recently announced the megaproject as a contribution to improving Santo Domingo's competitiveness. The project involves a southern extension to the seafront of the 14-km boulevard that stretches from the Port of Haina to the Colonial City.
Llibre says that instead, the Mayor should focus on finding short-term solutions to the most pressing problems, especially as the city government does not have funding for the proposed megaproject.
"The short-term solution is to clean and light up the Malecon. That is first and after that you can do whatever you want," he said. "That is a long-term project and you do not even have the funds for it," said Llibre.
The Asonahores president was interviewed after a meeting with the president of the Chamber of Deputies Tourism Commission, David Collado who invited him to discuss bills with incentives to stimulate maritime tourism. The same bill seeks to provide guidelines for guaranteeing and regulating free access to beaches, coasts and rivers.
Llibre said he was speaking out because the private sector needs to demand that the authorities fulfill their responsibilities, as reported in Diario Libre.
He acknowledged that the CDEEE was working on the lighting of the Malecon, and that Politur has increased its patrols and security in the Colonial City and along the Malecon.
The Secretary General of the city government, Domingo Contreras told Diario Libre that since 2002, the current administration of the city of Santo Domingo has remodeled the Malecon, mentioning the removal of shacks and the construction of the Plaza Juan Baron (a private initiative).
In an op-ed piece about the many lies told by the current government officials in yesterday's Hoy newspaper, Hamlet Hermann was critical of the announcement of the US$12 million project. "To lie is to be a hypocrite," wrote Hermann, who set up the AMET force. "As when Mayor Roberto Salcedo wins the Pinocchio Award for declaring that he will renovate 12 kilometers of the city's Malecon when in five years he has not been capable of rebuilding the small Hostos Park."
http://www.hoy.com.do/opiniones/2010/10/3/344554/Vivir-en-la-mentira
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)