by Nick Cooke
WORD HAS IT…
· Sometime in June, Mombotour, a local tour operator, will begin taking interested parties on a 2½-hour mountain bike tour down Mombacho Volcano down to the lakeshore and along it to the colonial city of Granada. For just US$30, a bilingual guide will accompany you down the twists and turns of the
· Ground is soon to be broken for the Gran Pacifica resort on Nicaragua’s west coast. Years in planning, this US$40 million plus investment will result in a 250-room Marriott Hotel complete with pools, a casino, golf courses, and a marina. Those of you who are not animal rights fanatics will enjoy the “dolphinarium.”
· Talks for the Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, with the United States are going full steam ahead. With only a couple of hundred negotiating days till the signing deadline, late this year around about Xmas, a bone of contention involves prohibiting imports of subsidized products. Does this mean that notoriously subsidized U.S. farm produce will be tariffed out of range of our pocketbook?
· A tax reform recently went through the National Assembly at the pace of a 3-toed sloth picking fruit from the branch of tree in the north-central mountains. Capital gains taxes remain low to nil, including those on interest from government issued CENI bonds. One is to suppose that government is a good investment. That, and banking. Local banks successfully rebuffed overtures to have them pay tax on their earnings.
· Former president Arnoldo Alemán will remain under house arrest in his homestead in El Crucero on the plateau to the south of Managua despite repeated plaints from the National Police about how much this costs them compared to having the Liberal Party head honcho in the pen. Trial balloons have been floated to test the atmosphere regarding reforms with retroactive application to the law under which Alemán is charged. That law deals with drug trafficking and money laundering. So far, the necessary consensus among the nation’s lawmakers has not been met.
THE SUPREMES
Nicaragua’s Supreme Court of Justice has run into a few problems of late. Accusations of illicit practice have been made and the very legitimacy of the highest legal authority of the land has been challenged.
Francisco Fiallos, Nicaragua’s Procurator-General (Attorney-General) announced earlier this year that he has evidence in-hand for more than 40 indictments of Supreme Court (CSJ) Magistrates for litigating while holding their post on the Supreme Court. More than half of the allegations involved the head of the CSJ’s Disciplinary Commission, Dr. Rafael Solis. That commission is in charge of chastising legal authorities caught in wrongdoings. A video of him in action was circulated briefly.
First reactions from the CSJ were quite defensive and included a threat to disbar Fiallos. All lawyers need the approval of the “Most Excellent Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Nicaragua” in order to sign and seal legal documents. Later, in a move that brings to mind the old French saying of “quien s’excuse, s’accuse”, the CSJ Magistrates held a session and unanimously declared that they truly are honest and above reproach.
Like raindrops falling on hot pavement, the accusations evaporated into thin air. Nevertheless, a stench still hangs in the atmosphere and many are convinced that something is rotten in the judiciary. The international donor community has hinted at such, indicating that for Nicaragua to be able to attract investment and develop, it is necessary to “make reforms” to the legal system.
TRAFFIC TICKETS
You’ll see them, the Traffic cops, wearing new bright orange sparkly vests positioned at key points along major arteries or cruising by on a 185 cc motorcycle from the recently-acquired fleet. Drive safely and within all legal parameters and you probably will have no problem.
On the other hand, while climbing up a hill behind that slow-moving vehicle loaded with construction materials, you know you can overtake it. Technically, though, there is legislation proscribing such a maneuver.
New traffic laws passed through Nicaragua’s National Assembly recently. Fines for most infractions fell from 600 to 400 córdobas. The stiffest fines of C$1,500 (more than US$100 at the current exchange rate) are reserved for a limited list of four infractions: drunk driving, driving on drugs, leaving the scene of an accident, and speeding.
Fast? How fast?
Speed kills, and now, equipped with radar units, traffic cops can be expected to pop up in the most expected places, trying to reduce vehicular fatalities. Posted limits go as low as
With the ticket price running at 1500 cords, your powers of persuasion will be called to the fore in an attempt to convince the officers (they always work in pairs) that in reality, you were not going all that fast. If all fails, you give up your license in exchange for a yellow ticket and you have 15 days to cough up the fine before the amount doubles.
Energetic protest
Four international firms are now pre-qualified and negotiating offshore and onshore oil exploration rights. It is expected that contracts will be signed before autumn.
Claiming control of the continental shelf, Colombia has caused concern about the parcels off the Caribbean coast, to the point where action by that country’s navy has been threatened. Colombia specifically contests the areas around Nicaragua’s former islands of San Andrés, Roncador (snorer), and Quitasueño (can’t sleep). These islands became part of Colombia as a result of the complicated negotiations last century to make part of its country into Panama for the purposes of canal construction. Nicaragua lost out then but still has cases before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Colombia’s complaints are being taken with a grain of salt.
No offshore or onshore platform will be mounted in the very near future. First, environmental impact studies must be made and contracts have to be haggled over and signed. Local environmentalists have expressed skepticism. President Bolaños stated, “I hope to God they find oil” once the wrangling is over.
POST-IRAQ OPPORTUNITIES
Shortly before U.S. and British forces moved in on Iraq, President Enrique Bolaños was in Washington D.C. to express his support for the coalition effort. He told Nicaragua’s citizens that they very well might look forward to obtaining employment reconstructing post-attack Iraq.
Despite cynical criticism to the contrary, job-starved Nicaraguans began arriving at the offices of the Ministry of Labour in Managua the next day. Fortunately, no scammers appeared on the scene with offers to “expedite matters” as happened during the Gulf War of 1990. Then, hundreds were ripped off when they paid 100 córdobas (then US$20) to shysters peddling application forms for jobs in Iraq.
If wishes were horses, it is said that beggars would ride. The promised potential jobs have yet to materialize. In early May, it was announced that an undetermined number of Nicaraguan Army sappers are to go over there to help clear minefields, along with some medical personnel, all under the supervision of Coalition member Spain. Critics of this move affirm that there is need for these skills here at home.
Bolaños also announced on his return from the U.S. capitol that in exchange for jumping on the Coalition gravy train, the Bush Administration would provide an undisclosed sum for infrastructure projects in Nicaragua, mainly highways. The portfolio of projects reportedly includes the much talked about Coastal Highway along the Pacific from the Costa Rican border to somewhere west of Managua.
This roadway project, on the drawing board since the early 1970s, is sparking rumors among developers and real estate dealers eager to attract potential investors.
