2000 – Page 138

Defending himself from what he termed "a campaign in the press directed against [me]," the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (SCJ) has invited the country’s leading accounting firms to conduct an audit of the SCJ’s books for the period that the court has been under his direction. Jorge Subero Isa, who has headed the …

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President-elect Hipolito Mejia announced that he will reduce his RD$90,000/month (around US$5,600) presidential salary by 40%. Salaries of cabinet officers and presidential staff will be similarly reduced. Earning just RD$54,000/month the president will earn less than members of congress, who are paid RD$70,000/month (around US$4,350). A cabinet minister earns RD$50,000 (around US$3,125) and a deputy …

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In a surprise move, President-elect Hipolito Mejia announced he will name his vice-president, Milagros Ortiz Bosch, to the post of Education & Culture Minister. Though unusual, no constitutional provision proscribes a sitting vice president from discharging another salaried administrative function. Joaquin Balaguer’s Vice President, Carlos Morales Troncoso, served as Dominican ambassador in Washington and also …

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The DR needs to enact legislation to make the theft of electric service a crime, according to Anibal Mejia, Vice-President of AES del Este, one of the three new private companies that control electrical distribution in the country. The company has thus far invested US$40,000 in new equipment and debt service reduction. "Stealing electricity is …

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The decision of President Leonel Fernandez to delay the sale of the state-owned airline, its paint company, and its pulp and paper manufacturing plants has put the future of the Public Enterprise Reform Commission (CREP) in doubt. Fernandez froze the privatization of the three bankrupt businesses until after the Mejia government comes to power on …

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Police and agents from the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) raided two discotheques this weekend and took 47 people into custody charged with prostitution. Among those detained, 15 are underage, nine of whom are male. Scene of the raids were two discotheques ­ La Noria and La Sonrisa – in the popular beach resort of …

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The government of Hipolito Mejia will fulfill one of his campaign promises by dividing the National District (Santo Domingo and environs) into at least four administrative districts. The announcement was made by Hatuey de Camps, president of Mejia’s PRD Party, on the TV program, "Hoy Mismo."The idea of decentralizing municipal functions was first articulated during …

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The country continues to be victim of an unnamed virus that has affected as much as 10% of the nation’s school children. According to Dr. Emilio Mena Castro, Director of the Robert Reid Cabbral Children’s Hospital in Santo Domingo, 35% of all patients seeking treatment at the hospital manifest the symptoms of the virus. According …

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Known unofficially as "Liberty Day," the 30th of May is a date that inspires articles in the press, TV and radio discussions, and a pilgrimage. At 5:30 today, a group known as the "Heroes of May 30th" – comprising surviving friends and relatives of the band of conspirators who planned and carried out the assassination …

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The Congress will rush through long-pending legislation in order to clear the legislative calendar. According to Senate president, Ramon Albuquerque, the current session will be extended through July 27 in order to pass a new social security law, an environmental code, an energy regulatory act, financial and monetary reform, and customs duties reform. None of …

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