2003 – Page 298

President Hipolito Mejia said yesterday that he has no problems with protests in the country, as long as they remain peaceful. This was his answer to former President Leonel Fernandez? proclamation that his PLD party would organize a day of demonstrations on 15 March. Interviewed after a visit with Ramon Baez Figueroa, head of the …

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Several business organizations and policy institutions have taken the case of the new 10-percent surcharge on imports to the Supreme Court, in the hopes the court declares Decree 139-03 null and void. The suit is being sponsored by such groups as the FINJUS (Foundation for Institutionalization and Justice); CONEP (the National Counsel of Private Business); …

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Yesterday, President Hipolito Mejia sent a memorandum to all members of his government, reminding them to pay their taxes or face the consequences. The date of 31 March is the final day for government officials to file their income, with severe penalties for those who fail to do so. Article 307 of the Tax Code, …

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Foreign Minister of the Dominican Republic Hugo Tolentino Dipp told the Corripio Communications Group that the Dominican Republic can no longer hold out against the flood of Haitian immigrants. Tolentino said that the current legislation governing such matters dates back to 1939 and is ineffective to stop the ?massive and indiscriminate migration of Haitians?. According …

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Minister of Tourism Rafael Suberv? Bonilla announced last night that the post-9/11 crisis in the tourism industry is over. During his remarks at the XXIII Tourism Awards taking place at the V Centenario Hotel, Suberv? spoke optimistically of the successes of the industry and the new projects aimed at promoting foreign investment and attracting a …

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Today?s El Caribe reports that just a few days before the new energy rate goes into effect there still has been no agreement between the government, the power distributors and the power generators. Preliminary calculations are forecasting a 30-percent increase to electrical rates for March, with no mechanism developed for the increase not to be …

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The major economic news in today?s Listing Diario is the announcement that the government has allocated RD$10 billion for subsidies in the 2003 budget. This figure represents 12 percent of the foreseen government revenues for 2003. According to National Budget Director Luis Ernesto Perez Cuevas, the government will subsidize the lowest-income neighborhoods? electricity to the …

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Beginning today, the newly recomposed Central Electoral Board will divide itself into two chambers: one to handle administrative problems of the electoral process and the other to oversee contentious disputes. The president of the Central Electoral Board, Ramon Morel Cerda, will preside over both. The Senate, whose official Special Session ended on 15 February, will …

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According to the economy section of El Caribe, gasoline may become scarce as soon as this weekend. Reporter Lourdes Rosa says that several stations in Santo Domingo have already experienced a rush of customers in the face of the boycott of new fuel purchases ordered by ANADEGAS. Sixty-one percent of the stations in Santo Domingo …

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Hoy newspaper reports that 300 soldiers of the United States Southern Command and troops of the Dominican Army began joint military exercises in the Sierra Prieta shooting range, north of Santo Domingo. The newspaper says that two other US military groups are training police agents in anti-kidnapping tactics and airport officers in the fight against …

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