2008 – Page 18

Last night’s speech by President Leonel Fernandez was awaited with high expectations, partly due to the fact that the President had not commented publicly about the current pressing issues since his inauguration on 16 August. Fernandez spoke about the ways in which his government would meet the challenges of the global financial crisis. Fernandez announced …

Read more…

Central Bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu has announced that the DR will sign a post-program monitoring agreement with the International Monetary Fund, following the completion of the three-year Stand-by Arrangement in January 2008. The DR’s Letter of Intent will be reviewed by IMF managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on 12 January. Strauss-Kahn was in the DR …

Read more…

Former Dominican consulate clerk Francisco “Danilo” Estevez was arrested in the US for using his privileged status visa to illegally bring “dozens” of Dominicans into the US between 2007 and 2008. He was charged for alien smuggling in New York and could face up to 20 years in prison. In a press release the Ministry …

Read more…

The Ministry of Environment says that as a result of Operation Hutia to clear Los Haitises National Park of farmers and squatters, drug smuggling operations were detected in the eastern part of the park. Listin Diario reports that the smugglers were using the Ministry stations. “That wasn’t kids’ play,” said deputy Environment minister Eleuterio Martinez. …

Read more…

The Santo Domingo Metro has received its certifications from Madrid and German company Siemens, reportedly giving the long-awaited project the green light to begin operations. Listin Diario writes that the final inspection took place last week. Transport Reorganization Office (OPRET) sub-director Rafael Serrano said they do not have a date yet for the Metro’s opening …

Read more…

The electricity coordinator for the Herrera Association of Industries, Ernesto Vilalta has responded to statements by Radhames Segura, head of the Dominican Corporation of Electricity Enterprises (CDEEE) who blamed the private sector for the deficiency in generation in the country. Segura said that the private sector has failed to make the necessary investments, and justified …

Read more…

In an announcement released today, Cap Cana, the luxury development in Punta Cana and site of the first Jack Nicklaus golf course in the DR, says that it has reached a definitive settlement with all the lenders under the company’s US$100 million Bridge Loan that was originally scheduled to mature on 19 November 2008. The …

Read more…

After weeks without news, it is becoming increasingly likely that 51 people who set off on a small boat trip to Puerto Rico are probably dead. The sole survivors to date, Diomito Rodriguez and Reinaldo Ramirez were rescued off the coast of Belle Anse, Haiti, by fishermen. They were transported back to the small southwestern …

Read more…

Transport union leader Juan Hubieres called for another strike today as a way to pressure the government into making more concessions. The union leader has also been on hunger strike. Once again the public has been used as a pawn in Hubieres’s games and the government has yet to respond to his demands. The Fenatrano …

Read more…

Transport from the eastern DR towards Santo Domingo came to a screeching halt as fifteen transport unions called a 24-hour work stoppage as part of their campaign for road reconstruction in those provinces. Among the areas affected were San Pedro de Macoris, El Seibo, Higuey, Miches, Sabana de la Mar, El Valle, Ingenio Consuelo and …

Read more…