2001 – Page 25

President Hipolito Mejia has announced RD$30 billion in public works and social programs using money from the sovereign bonds and additional foreign borrowing. He expressed his optimism that the injection of new resources will boost the economy and he called for national unity to forge ahead. Speaking to the nation on TV last night, President …

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The Senate has approved the splitting of the National District into the National District and the Province of Santo Domingo which will have four municipalities: Santo Domingo East, Santo Domingo West, Santo Domingo North and Boca Chica. The National District will now be limited to the core of the city of Santo Domingo which will …

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The Senate confirmed it has received the constitutional reform bill presented by the Executive Branch and another presented by PRD Senator Dario Gomez. Both bills were sent to a special commission to be presided over by the president of the Senate and made up of 18 of the 30 senators.

The Monetary Junta has authorized a 0.25% reduction in the exchange commission. The new commission on foreign currency transactions will now be 4.75%. The measure is effective today, 3 October 2001, and was approved in the Monetary Junta meeting of 27 September. The measure will reduce the cost of imported goods and services.

The president of the National Council for Private Business, Marino Ginebra, forecasts a medium term improvement in the economy. He commented that the economy will benefit from the injection of money from the sovereign bonds, remittances to be sent home from Dominicans working on the reconstruction of downtown New York (which could offset jobs lost …

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El Siglo carries a report today on government plans to build six new parks on the outskirts of Santo Domingo. They will be the Manantiales del Norte, Manantiales del Cachon, Mirador Oeste, Mirador Norte (expansion), Parque de las Americas and Parque Nacional de Humedales del Ozama. Ecologist Eleuterio Martinez, who is in charge of the …

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Ivan de Jesus Garcia, president of the Dominican Federation of Merchants, said the only way to explain the increase in electricity rates at a time of long blackouts is that the power distributors have increased their rates. In an interview with the Listin Diario, he said, “How is it possible that a store that before …

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Thirty-two-year-old Dominican slugger Sammy Sosa yesterday became the first player in Major League baseball history to reach the 60 home run plateau three times. Sosa batted his record-breaking 60th home run on Tuesday at Wrigley Field in front of a crowd of over 35,000 fans. The Cubs lost 5-4 to the Cincinatti Reds. Sammy Sosa’s …

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Listin Diario reports that work has resumed at the Pan American Games athletes’ village after a 30-day interruption. The engineers restarted construction after the government injected RD$20 million into the project. The builders need the Chamber of Deputies to approve the land swap where the athletes’ village is going up in order to secure the …

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