2003 – Page 275

Amid a sea of differing opinions from labor organizations and industrial groups, Labor Minister Milton Ray Guevara has said that the system will begin on 1 February. Guevara explained to reporters from Hoy and El Caribe that the contributions to the system will begin with the affiliation to the newly created pension fund companies (AFPs) …

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Not possessing a c?dula, the national ID and voter registration card, has disallowed the inclusion of 30 percent of potential participants in the Social Security System in Region IV (Pedernales, Bahoruco, Barahona and Independencia provinces). Individuals without this document, or even a birth certificate, have been refused by the Social Security Treasury Department from participating …

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The Monetary Board of the Central Bank decreed yesterday that commercial banks could accept defaced currencies for another three months.. The Central Bank announced that it has already removed RD$30 million in defaced bills from circulation, despite experiencing some problems with the machines that are being used to classify the currency and the fact that …

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According to the latest cost-of-living analysis, salaries of up to RD$11,535 are exempt from any income taxes. This represents a savings of RD$1,097 per month for employees of companies with assets of over RD$500,000, and is retroactive from 1 January, 2003. The Internal Revenue office used the 10.5 percent inflation rate established by the Central …

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According to the National Planning Office (ONAPLAN), there are 2 million homes in the Dominican Republic and there are qualitative and quantitative needs for an additional 800,000 units. ONAPLAN, in a full-page article in today?s Listin Diario, says that a lack of potable water and basic sanitation needs are responsible for the large deficit of …

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Finance Minister Jose Lois Malkum told reporters from El Caribe newspaper that there is no mechanism available to the government that could put a stop to the price increases announced for February?s electric bills. He said that the government would intervene only if the price of a barrel of oil reaches US$50. In a separate …

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The front area of the Mercado Modelo on Mella Avenue has been cleaned up, but the back door area remains filthy, as evidenced by the front-page picture in El Caribe newspaper. For some reason, the area around Imbert Street is being used to deposit garbage picked up from around the Colonial Zone by military personnel …

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According to the lead story in Diario Libre, the cost of the basic groceries for the average family has risen by as much as 30 percent. Some items have increased by 17 percent and others by as much as 83 percent. The average increase of the 10 most essential items between November 2002 and yesterday …

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On 11 March, George Washington Avenue, known as the Malecon, will become a pedestrian walkway every Sunday. The city government declared as of this date, and continuing for the following 8 or 10 Sundays, the avenue would become an open-air caf? and entertainment center. According to Domingo Contreras, the secretary general of the local city …

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Yesterday, the government gave RD$100 million to the Central Bank to be taken out of circulation and, at the same time, paid US$135 million that was owed to the local commercial banks. Finance Minister Jose Lois Malkum also said that US$102 million had been placed in the Central Bank to shore up the hard currency …

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