Formal Charges Against Figueres
As expected and promised,
Legislative Deputies who make
the Comisión Legislativa de
Control de Ingreso y Gasto
Público made an appearance
before the Ministerio Público to
charge former president José
María Figueres Olsen (1994-1998)
with public disobedience.
Now it is all in the hands of
the Fiscalía (the Prosecutor's
office).
The charge is supported by the
fact that the Commission has
called the former president to
appear before them on four
separate occasions, to explain
his role in the receiving of
us$906.000 from the French
telecommunications firm Alcatel
for consulting fees.
Deputies Mario Redondo and
Ricardo Toledo with the Partio
Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC);
Luis Gerardo Villanueva (Partido
LIberacion Nacional - PLN);
Rodrigo Alberto Carazo with the
Acción Ciudadana (PAC) ,
Humberto Arce of Unión
Patriótica (UP) and Peter
Guevara of the Liberation party
made the charge.
The charge was made at 3:30pm
yesterday and based on Article
307 of the Penal Code that sets
out 15 days to one year prison
for disobeying an official order
of a public functionary.
If the Ministerio Público
decided that there has former
president Figueres is in breach
of the law, they can then ask a
competent court for a
international warrant for his
capture and ask the
International Police
organization - INTERPOL - to
detain and return Figueres to
Costa Rica wherever he may be.
This is just another chapter in
the ongoing saga known as the
ICE-Alcatel scandal that has
seen numerous public officials
and private businessmen being
investigated, under house arrest
or in jail, as is the case of
former president Miguel Angel
Rodríguez (1998-2002).
The "Big Game" Tonight: Costa
Rica vs Mexico
Tonight's game between the two
long time rivals will be played
in Costa Rica tonight and the
prediction is a Costa Rica win
of 2-1 over Mexico in what is
the deciding game who goes to
Germany for the World Cup
competition in 2006.
Costa Rica will be without key
defender Gilberto Martinez
because of injury. The Costa
Rican Football Federation said
on their official website that
Martinez suffered a thigh strain
in his right leg during a match
for his Italian club Brescia on
Sunday.
Martinez, who played in all
three of Costa Rica's games at
the 2002 World Cup, limped out
of the Serie A match against
Udinese in the 39th minute.
"The injury will keep him out of
action for at least 12 days,"
the federations said.
The Ticos are already missing
forward Steven Bryce, who has an
ankle injury.
The match at the Saprissa
stadium is one of three which
kick off the final stage of the
marathon CONCACAF qualifying
tournament.
Trinidad & Tobago host the
United States while Panama are
at home to Guatemala in the
other matches.
Police have promised an
increased presence at the
Saprissa stadium in Tibás. More
than 500 members of the UIP - a
special unit to handle major
crowds will be on hand to ensure
security.
Seat Belt Fine Increasing
Still
stubborn about using your
seatbelt? Then be prepared to
pay more in fines.
A fine issued by a Transit
official for the non-wearing of
seatbelts jumps to ¢9.230
(us$19.95) up from ¢8.390
(us$18.12), plus additional
costs added for 'timbres' and
surcharges, the actual fine will
be ¢12.999 colones (us$28.07).
Based on Article 79 of the Laws
of Transit, the fines are
adjusted every six months.
Last year Transit officials
issued more than 36.000 fines
for the non-use of seatbelts by
the driver and passengers, both
in the front and back seats.
One of the problems faced by the
Transit Authority is the
collecting of fines. Currently
all fines are to be paid at the
Banco Nacional and the Banco de
Costa Rica. However, in the
coming months, Transit fines can
also be paid at all supermarkets
and pharmacies similar to the
way one can now pay utility
bills. This move should reduce
the late payment by 40%.
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Underground Cabling of Downtown
San José Behind Schedule
Anyone who has
visited downtown San José over
the past couple of years has for
run into the underground cabling
work that is being carried out.
From a block intersection to a
complete sidewalk torn up,
workers for the Compañía
Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL)
have been busy to complete a job
that should have been finished
last month.
Officials at the CNFL say that
all of the work should now be
completed no later than April.
All the underground cables have
been installed, the construction
work has been completed, now
CNFL workers are busy connecting
the thousands of homes and
businesses to the underground
network and removing the
overhead wires.
CNFL officials say that 12% of
the work is complete.
Major streets like Avenida 1
between Calle 5 and 11 have
already changed their character
as the new street lamps now
illuminate the night and no
overhead cable exists.
Work is now being carried out in
barrios such as Otoya, Los
Angeles, Aranjues, Mexico and
Bolivar and soon to extend to
the rest of the downtown
neighbourhoods at a cost ofus
$52 million dollars.
The work by Spanish construction
firm Inabensa had been
originally scheduled for
completion in October. However,
a late decision to include
telecommunications by the
Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) cabling the
underground network made it
impossible to stay on schedule.
The CNFL is part of ICE,
however, on this project as in
many in the past, the right hand
doesn't necessarily know or
agree with the left and the
decision to move all overhead
cables to the underground
network would have left the
telephone wires where they were.
An addendum to the original
contract was necessary and then
rejected by the Contraloría
General de la República (CGR) -
Comptroller's office - causing
the delays.
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