2003 – Page 284

Pedro Silverio of the Cenantillas economic think-tank yesterday criticized the fact that the Central Bank had not yet received the US$150 million designated to bolster its foreign currency reserves. This money was to have come from the US$600-billion bond issuance of January 2003. Today, daily newspapers are carrying paid public announcements from the Ministry of …

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The Director General of the price control department of the Ministry of Industry & Commerce established yesterday that the price for fresh chicken was to be no more than RD$16 a pound. At his press briefing, Juan Bautista Villaman said that this decision was based on Article 9 of Law 13, which establishes the price …

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Hoy newspaper recounts the demise of dozens of small businesses due to the elevated costs of operation and high interest rates on loans. Reporter Rafael Baldayac from Santiago tells of retail business complaining of 30-percent increases on the prices of food and electricity, and 50-percent increases in interest rates on bank loans. He mentions that …

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President Mejia announced the implementation of a new high-security proof system for visas issued by Dominican consulates abroad. The new system for the request, registration, approval and printing of Dominican visas should reduce the number of phony visas to a minimum and will go into effect 6 March, with technology provided by the Canadian Bank …

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Diario Libre reports that Radhames Ramos Garcia, deputy of La Vega, was seen vacationing at a southeastern resort last weekend. Ramos had requested a 15-day medical leave of absence from the Chamber of Deputies. Despite having a well-documented case against him regarding the trafficking of 16 Chinese nationals with the help of his influence as …

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Career diplomat Pedro Padilla Tonos, a former Dominican ambassador to the United Kingdom, has been appointed ambassador to Italy. At the time of his appointment, he was the ambassador to the United Nations based in New York City. Padilla Tonos replaces Leonardo Matos Berrido in the embassy in Italy.  Over the weekend, President Mejia also …

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Listin Diario reports that contrary to what had been expected, the net international reserves of the Central Bank fell 34.4 percent in mid February, despite the country issuing US$600 million in sovereign bonds. The sovereign bond placement specified that US$150 million would be allocated to strengthen the international reserves. The January placement of the bonds …

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President Hipolito Mejia said that the PPH faction within his government would support a PRD candidate for President in 2004, regardless of whether this candidate be himself or another person. He said that the PPH would not support someone who has confronted him for the presidential candidacy. Speaking on his ?Una Vez por Semana? TV …

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Hoy newspaper reports that political party delegates Victor Gomez Berges (PRSC) and Cesar Pina Toribio (PLD) have used the word ?suspicious? to describe the bill ruling on the organization of election primaries that President Hipolito Mejia deposited in Congress on 27 February. The two said that Congress cannot approve the project before it has been …

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Presidential candidate hopeful for the PRSC Jacinto Peynado and fellow former Vice President Carlos Morales Troncoso announced they would oppose the PPH movement and its rumored efforts to promote a PRSC presidential candidate partisan to the PPH and its interests. The PPH movement is the political faction that led President Hipolito Mejia to power and …

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