2003 – Page 78

The religious, business and academic communities of Santiago gathered there yesterday to deliver a tribute and bid a fond farewell to 77-year-old Flavio Dario Espinal, who died of liver cancer yesterday. To his credit, Espinal lived a quiet life, while making a big difference with his example and efforts. During the government of President Antonio …

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As of late last night, the Dominican government took control of the electric distributors, Edenorte and Edesur, the long-standing targets of fervent protests due to deficient service. With this handoff, the blackouts will again be the government’s headache. According to the Listin Diario and the Diario Libre, the final negotiating sessions were long and drawn …

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The economic editor of Hoy newspaper, Mario Mendez writes of the general concern regarding how the government will pay for the debt it is picking up with Union Fenosa in order to buyback the Spanish company’s power distribution subsidiaries. He writes that the government had already negotiated a loan [US$200 million] with the World Bank …

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Hoy reports that the IMF mission that was participating in talks concerning the government takeover of the EDEs electrical distribution companies have packed their bags and left “for consultations” in Washington. In diplomatic terms, this usually means that they are unhappy with the way things were going. Sources close to the IMF team said that …

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The prolonged series of lengthy blackouts provoked protests yesterday that injured a dozen people, including one lieutenant colonel of the police. Dozens more were arrested and certain highways were momentarily blockaded, including major thoroughfares. According to Hoy, two policemen were wounded in Santiago and one in Santo Domingo. More injuries were reported in Bonao, and …

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Today’s op-ed contribution by leading economist Pedro Silverio is quite succinct: The Dominican government is not doing much to inspire a healthy “investment climate”. He identifies the decline of direct foreign investment as an indicator, showing the fall from 7.6% of the GDP to just 4% over the past four years, representing an erosion of …

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A new industry has arisen as a result of the precarious energy situation: home-built generators using automotive engines. El Caribe reports that many businesses and families are turning to the locally-constructed generators that use old automobile engines as a source of power. Depending on the source of fuel (gasoline or diesel) and the size of …

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According to reports, the energy crisis is having serious effects on the sale of beer, one of the largest taxpayers in the country. Jose Leon Asencio, president of the Leon Jimenes Group, told reporters that beer sales were down by 7% from last year, for which he blamed the lack of electricity. Retailers are having …

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According to the Supreme Court, the Dominican judicial system needs 545 more judges in order to bring the new Penal Code and the new Child Protection Law to bear. Using the acronym CNNA, derived from its Spanish name (Codigo de Ninos, Ninas y Adolescentes), the child protection law calls for 92 judges to handle the …

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According to the Listin Diario, 500 governmentally operated OMSA buses are not in service due to lack of fuel. Reporter Adriana Peguero says that thousands of passengers were left without public transport yesterday. President Mejia ordered RD$10 million to be sent to OMSA, as a partial payment on the RD$25-million fuel debt with Mopatex-Isla, their …

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