2003 – Page 309

The National Dialogue Commission under Monsignor Agripino Nu?ez Collado reopened yesterday in an attempt to define precisely which issues should be given priority. Civilian groups, the Catholic Church, various political parties and worker?s organizations are participating in the talks. In yesterday?s session, Ana Selman was named to head a technical committee to organize the 27 …

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The Saga of the Armored Car continues in today?s papers. While Hoy newspaper says that the vehicle is for George Bush to use this week during his vacation at Casa de Campo in La Romana, El Caribe carries a denial from the US Embassy that the vehicle is designated for the use of the former …

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Dr. Luis Emilio Montalvo, the highly respected head of the Presidential AIDS Council (COPRESIDA), announced yesterday that the Global Fund the United Nations based in Geneva, Switzerland, has allocated US$47.5 million dollars to fight AIDS in the Dominican Republic. According to Montalvo, this will permit the government to cover 95 percent of the medical needs …

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Minister of Finance Jose Lois Malkum told reporters yesterday that the World Bank has said that the pending loan of US$250 million dollars is vital to the conclusion of the reform process currently in progress in the electric sector. Malkum said that an official of the World Bank told him that there were concerns about …

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The front page of the economic section of the El Caribe newspaper carries the story of the steady increase in government expenditures on salaried employees. For the past three years the government has spent more than has been budgeted in salaries for its employees. In 2000, the first year of the Mejia administration, the budget …

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A front-page picture and feature article in El Caribe tells of workers loading a dump truck with sand from the beaches of Gaspar Hernandez, in the northeast, despite the fact that the permit for this work lapsed nine months ago. A syndicate of 45 trucks is exploiting the beach sand, however local authorities seem to …

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Listin Diario reports that five United States congressmen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Shristopher Shays, Mario Diaz-Balart, Brad Carson, Donald Mansullo, and Jeff Flake, sent a letter to Robert Zoellick, the US commercial negotiator, urging that the Dominican Republic be included in the Free Trade negotiations with Central America. In an exclusive in the Listin Diario, the Republican …

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The powerful Aguilas Cibae?as, champions of the Dominican Winter League and considered the odds-on favorite, had their wings clipped yesterday by the Mayaguez Indians of the Puerto Rican League, who defeated the Aguilas 10 to 0 in the Caribbean Baseball Series game. The pitchers for Mayaguez, Enrique Calero and Fernando Cabrera, gave up just two …

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Julio Cross, the Superintendent of Power, was the guest at the Corripio Communications Group luncheon yesterday. He denied that the Dominican government would take over the production and distribution of electricity and categorically rejected the possibility of a crisis of sustainability in the electric sector. He said the previous crisis in the sector was due …

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Decree 39 ? 03 guarantees public access to government plans, budgets, critical paths and any other part of public-works construction projects. The decree also creates social auditing commissions that are to review the public funds used in state projects. According to Hoy newspaper, the Center for Government Information (CIG) bulletin explains that Article 3 of …

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