2001 – Page 66

Government revenues for July were considerably less than expected. The RD$4,200 million July total is the lowest monthly collection in the past seven months. National Treasurer Pastora Mendez attributed the decline to the implementation of the GATT valuation system at Customs. She said that both Customs and the Internal Revenues & Income Tax departments reported …

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The director of the public transportation department (OTTT) Antonio Reynoso said that if the Coordinator of Popular and Taxi Driver Unions, known for leading the organization of strikes in the DR, maintains its call to a nationwide day of protest for this Wednesday, the OTTT would provide free transportation that day. Construction of more hospitals …

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The nation will soon have a new ministry: the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Secretaria de Estado de Educacion Superior, Ciencia y Tecnologia-SEESCT). El Caribe points out today that, with the exception of the state university, the main source of revenues for Dominican universities is tuition fees. Isidoro Santana, an education researcher, says …

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El Siglo newspaper’s Penn, Schoen & Berland survey showed that Dominicans have a positive opinion of the work of the Police (72%), the management of education (65%), public transport (63%), health (59%), and garbage collection (59%). Most Dominicans (53%) said they are unsatisfied with the government’s performance in general. Despite the police department’s high rating, …

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The same survey showed that 75% of Dominicans will vote in the upcoming congressional and municipal election. Only 14% said they do not know for which party they would vote and 8% said they would not vote. The PRD leads in voter preference with 34%, followed closely by the PLD with 31% and the PRSC …

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El Siglo analyst Ramon Tejada Holguin reports that 65% of those polled in February showed some level of satisfaction with the administration of President Hipolito Mejia. This had declined by July to 47%, or a drop of 18 points. El Siglo points out that what is most notable is that the level of displeasure is …

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According to the same El Siglo poll, Dominicans give the highest ratings to the government of the late Antonio Guzman (PRD 1978-1982). Next is that of Joaquin Balaguer (PRSC 1966-1978 and 1986-1994), with a 60% favorable rating, followed by that of Leonel Fernandez with 56% (PLD 1996-2000). Then comes Hipolito Mejia with one year in …

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In a July Gallup poll for Hoy newspaper, 69% of those polled felt that the country was headed in the wrong direction in the first year of Leonel Fernandez’s government and 56% felt at the time that things would not get better in the next three years. In the July Hamilton-Beattie & Staff poll, 58% …

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Elvin Jose Guillen Jorge, accused of killing lawyer and business consultant Rafael Batista Fernandez, turned himself in to police yesterday. Police spokesman Nelson Rosario said that Guillen confessed he stabbed the lawyer in the chest while accomplice Joan Santos hit him on the head with a sharp object. Batista Fernandez was kidnapped 25 July and …

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Hoy newspaper reports on an overabundance of fruits and vegetables in the Dominican marketplace. Consumers are benefiting from the many two-for-one sales that have become common in local supermarkets.