2000 – Page 99

President-elect Hipólito Mejía is slated to speak in the United Nations Summit of the Millenium that opens in New York City on 6 September and continues through the 8th. His seven-minute speech is scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, 6 September. In the morning, the Presidents of the United States and Russia have been programmed.

President-elect Hipolito Mejia said his government would finish the convention center, started by the Balaguer administration (1994-96) and abandoned by the Fernandez administration. The convention center would be government seat for the Cibao region. The contractors say RD$88 million is needed to complete the center, but that it could be ready for use in eight …

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Luis Emilio de la Rosa Beras, one of the men accused of the murder of Ahora news magazine editor Orlando Martinez, said that then Major of the Air Force Joaquin Antonio Pou Castro directed the plot against the journalist. He said in the ongoing trial being heard in Santo Domingo that Mariano Durán Cabrera and …

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El Siglo newspaper reports that a Dominican swimmer will be present in the Sydney Olympic Games. Guillermo Cabrera, who swims for the Madre y Maestra University team in Santiago, made the times for the event. This will be the first time a Dominican swims in an Olympic Games. Other sports that have qualified to participate …

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Lawyer Luis Heredia Bonetti, a former president of the American Chamber of Commerce, is again proposing that the Dominican and Haitian foreign debt be consolidated into a development fund focused on development in Haiti. The proposal was first made five years ago, but Heredia Bonetti says it is even more timely now. In an interview …

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President-elect Hipolito Mejía announced that he will create a Ministry of the Diaspora to manage affairs of Dominicans living abroad. He said Antonio Torres would be the first Minister. Speaking in Miami prior to returning to Santo Domingo after a Caribbean cruise last week, he also promised to eliminate the consular invoice and said he …

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Minister of Labor Rafael Alburquerque said that 60% of the public employees, or about 263,000 are PRD sympathizers. In his opinion, the new government will not be able to fire state employees that have been given administrative career status.

Power generators have resorted to shutting off their plants to pressure the Fernandez government into leaving mechanisms for the automatic payment of arrears, and in demand for payment. As a result, the power deficit peaked at 600 megawatts over the weekend, with demand at 1,500 megawatts. In the DR, the outages primarily affect lower middle …

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The newly created Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarn) will oversee the development of tourism, industrial, real estate, mining, port, and agriculture projects. The new entity will be an umbrella-type government department. Under its wing will be: Department of Natural Resources of the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Parks, National Planning Office’s Department of …

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