The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, February 4, 2004

TRAVELING for trade: President Abel Pacheco told the press he'll need to make several trips to Washington D.C. to lobby in favor of the Central America Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States.

Pacheco Will Go to Washington
To Lobby for Trade Agreement
President Abel Pacheco yesterday announced he is planning a series of trips to Washington, D.C., in the coming months meet with legislators, business leaders and labor groups to lobby in favor of the Central America Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States.
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Government Increases
Public Housing Bonds
The Housing Ministry this year plans to issue 12,000 housing bonds (building bonds equal to the price of building a house) -- 20% more than were issued last year -- at a cost of ¢30 billion ($71 million), Housing Minister Helio Fallas announced yesterday.
(Click for more)

February 4

Editus in Concert
Two-time Grammy Award winner Editus performs tonight with Marta Fonseca and Arnoldo Castillo, 10 p.m. at the Jazz Café, San Pedro. Info: 253-8933.

Historians Meet the Public
Renowned historians are offering conferences every morning and talks during the afternoons today through Friday at the Herradura Hotel. Some of the most known include Michelle Vovelle and Frederic Chauvaud from France, Xosé Ramon, Veiga and Jaime Contreras Alonso from Spain and Beatriz Bragoni from Argentina. Info: 277-32-55, 237-5929 277-3224.

Book Club Meeting
The Book Club welcomes new members. Tonight's meeting will feature discussion on South African author John Maxwell Coetzee, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature. Meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Librería Internacional in Barrio Dent. Info: webmaster@clubdelibros.com

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Pacheco Will Go to Washington
To Lobby for Trade Agreement
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

President Abel Pacheco yesterday announced he is planning a series of trips to Washington, D.C., in the coming months meet with legislators, business leaders and labor groups to lobby in favor of the Central America Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States.

"I will have to take trips for that purpose," Pacheco said during the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday. "I'll have to make several trips."

Costa Rica finished CAFTA negotiations on Jan. 25 (TT, Jan. 30). The presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the United States are expected to sign the treaty in April and send it to their countries' legislative bodies to be ratified shortly after. The trade pact could go into effect as early as Jan. 1, 2005.

In November, pro-CAFTA U.S. legislators warned the trade pact would face an uphill battle in the U.S. Congress and Senate. They recommended Central American government officials and business leaders travel to Washington to lobby in favor of CAFTA (TT, Nov. 14, 2003).

Pacheco agreed.

"I will attempt to make them see Costa Rica is not just a country, but also a way of seeing the world, doing things and overcoming underdevelopment," Pacheco said. "For us to succeed in overcoming poverty, we'll need a helping hand from developed countries. That's why I'll go there."

The President has yet to announce the dates of his trips.

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Government Increases
Public Housing Bonds
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

The Housing Ministry this year plans to issue 12,000 housing bonds (building bonds equal to the price of building a house) -- 20% more than were issued last year -- at a cost of ¢30 billion ($71 million), Housing Minister Helio Fallas announced yesterday.

During the weekly Cabinet meeting, Fallas summarized what the Housing Ministry accomplished during 2003 and its plans for 2004.

Last year, the Housing Ministry approved 27 new low-income housing projects throughout the country, Fallas said. The Ministry also developed 18 new middle-income housing projects through its savings, bond and credit (ABC) program, which uses housing bonds and low-interest loans to complement potential homeowners' personal savings. The Housing Ministry is studying another 40 subsidized housing projects.

Steps were taken last year to create a new urban planning law to replace the Greater Metropolitan Area Plan (Plan GAM), which has been operating for nearly two decades. The European Union has agreed to fund the development of the new plan, Fallas said.

A new public-housing building code that aims to ensure the quality of subsidized housing was approved in February 2003. In addition to tougher construction standards, the new plan requires specific building designs in areas prone to flooding, as well as for areas that are hot and dry. It also calls for specially adapted homes to fit the cultural traditions of certain indigenous groups (TT Daily, Feb. 6, 2003), he said.

This year, the ministry will focus on meeting the needs of people living in shantytowns, and will continue to expand and improve the ABC program, Fallas added.

He announced the ministry would create a government database with the names of all the people who have received housing assistance from the different institutions and cooperation agencies specialized on the matter. That will make it possible to crosscheck the names of everyone who has received assistance and discover people who may be taking advantage of the government, Fallas said.

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Ministry of Agriculture
Introduces "Perfect" Papaya

In hopes of increasing papaya consumption in Costa Rica and throughout the world, the Ministry of Agriculture is promoting a new version of the locally grown fruit.

Developers call it "the perfect papaya," according to a statement from the Ministry. Weighing an average of 1.35 kilograms, the new variety is described as a smaller, sweeter version of the original.

The variety is a result of collaborative research between the Ministry of Agriculture, University of Costa Rica and the National Institute of Innovation and Transference Technology.

So far, 10 farmers are growing the new papaya, known as Pococí, according to the Ministry.

Agriculture officials expect seeds for the new variety to be available throughout the country by May 2005. They hope to increase production of the fruit from 20 hectares now to between 600 and 900 hectares every year and eventually exporting it to other markets, according to the statement.

The Ministry says papaya consumption in Costa Rica is relatively low, totally 15 kilograms per capita annually, although reception to the new papaya has been good.

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Wednesday October 26, 2005