2000 – Page 2

President Hipólito Mejía used sharp language to rebut the complaints of business leaders that the fiscal package enacted by Congress yesterday would result in the loss of countless jobs and lead to the bankruptcy of small and mid-sized businesses. Mejía said that it was untrue that he had not taken into account the views of …

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The Ministry of Public Health has launched an investigation into the practice of medicine by unlicensed, foreign-educated physicians. Public Health Minister, Jose Rodriguez Soldevilla, said that any qualified doctors who are now practicing medicine within the DR ought to take the steps necessary to regularize their practice, since those who lack the required medical credentials …

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The Director of Civil Defense, Rhadames Lora Salcedo, revealed that the former administration of the entity he heads rejected a US$15 million loan from the Spanish government that would have purchased helicopters, launches and other cutting-edge equipment. According to Lora Salcedo, the acquisition of the sophisticated equipment and transport was deemed incommensurate with the technical …

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The package of new taxes and fiscal modifications that the press has denominated the "paquetazo" received the approbation of the Chamber of Deputies yesterday following a tumultuous series of parliamentary skirmishes, and some high-level bartering. The Chamber version of the "paquetazo" comprises two bills that are the same as those previously ratified by the Senate, …

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The Ministry of Commerce announced that the price of a gallon of gasoline will drop by DR$.50 this coming Saturday. Similar price reductions were announced for gasoil and other domestic-use fuels. The price of propane gas ­ the principal source of fuel for cooking in the DR ­ remains unchanged. The announcement represents the first …

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Public employees, beginning with those who work in the National Palace, started to receive their December paychecks yesterday afternoon. Checks for the remaining governmental workers will be distributed today and tomorrow. Typically, government paydays fall on the 25th of the month, although by tradition, December salaries are paid on the 23rd. But that tradition was …

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The Administrative Secretary of the President boasted to reporters of the belt-tightening measures being taken by the Mejia Administration. Pedro Franco Badia said that the President works with the Budget Director on a daily basis to squeeze value out of every peso’s expenditure. Franco Badia alluded to austerity measures that have even "eliminated sandwiches" provided …

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President Hipolito Mejia will submit to Congress today the Fiscal Year 2001 budget bill. The budget proposal calls for expenditures in excess of DR$65 billion (around US$3.9 billion). Yesterday’s congressional approval of the so-called "paquetazo" of tax and fiscal reform removed the last obstacle to its consideration, since Mejia is expected to sign the tax …

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Six American Airlines (AA) airplanes arrived at Santo Domingo’s Las Americas International Airport yesterday carrying some 200,000 pounds of luggage. The cargo represents the personal effects of thousands of Dominicans returning home for the Christmas holidays on scores of AA flights whose excess baggage stayed behind. During the past two weeks, aviation officials, airport authorities …

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"I’m just waiting for Senate approval," said Jose Joaquin Puello of the pending legislation that would transfer title to the Pan Am Games Organizing Committee of the land where the Pan Am Village is to built. The head of the committee said that he was not anticipating any surprises and that 414,000 square meters of …

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