2003 – Page 88

El Caribe leads with the tragic news that ten premature babies have died in San Pedro de Macoris’ Musa Hospital. The cause of the deaths is being given as hypothermia, as most of the hospital’s incubators are out of service. The single unit that works is affected by the serious electricity shortages and lack of …

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The newspapers continue to aim their focus on the grim story of murdered San Cristobal businessman Jose Castro, apparently killed by a domestic servant at the behest of his wife and children. Neighbors and friends of the family are coming forward to tell reporters that it was an “open secret” that Castro was violent towards …

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Elena Viyella de Paliza, president of the National Council of Business (CONEP), and Lisandro Macarrulla, president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic, announced they would hold the 2rd Business Convention to take place this coming 4-5 December. The gathering’s premise is to garner a concerted position for the business sector regarding the …

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Elena Viyella de Paliza and Lisandro Macarrulla urged the implementation on a national fiscal reform, and asked that the best interests of the country as a whole be kept in mind. The goal for the reform should be to increase competitiveness of Dominican business, especially with the imminence of the signing of a FTA with …

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The International Monetary Fund mission announced it had concluded a round of discussions with Dominican authorities as part of the first review of the country’s standby arrangement with the organization. The agreement was suspended after the Dominican government assumed new financial responsibilities that had not been taken into account in the original IMF deal. The …

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The full budget for next year will depend on the outcome of the IMF agreement, but would not be defined by it, said Presidential Technical Secretary Carlos Despradel yesterday. The budget is almost complete, Despradel told reporters, and the finishing touches will be influenced by the IMF negotiations. The IMF, however, is not imposing any …

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President Hipolito Mejia announced the creation by Decree 1084-03 of the National Department for Financial Security. The new governmental body will be responsible for taking actions to prevent, monitor and investigate those that commit actions that affect financial entities and violate the Monetary Code. The new body will be directly under the President’s Office.

The Dominican ambassador in Washington, Hugo Guiliani Cury, has warned that the Dominican Republic would be left out of the Central American free trade agreement (CAFTA) if it is not ready by April next year. He announced that US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick would visit the country in January to preside over the first round …

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The Dominican Conference of the Episcopate, the voice of the Roman Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic, urged the government to concentrate on priority spending and eliminate extravagant, useless and unnecessary spending, including high wages, superfluous jobs and generous subsidies. They pointed to the need to curb the erosion and dispersion of the state’s resources …

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Francisco Antonio “Tony” Pena Guaba, son of the late PRD leader Jose Francisco Pena Gomez, called on that party to expel Guido Gomez Mazara, the government’s legal advisor and guiding light of the PPH (Proyecto Presidencial Hipolito, the internal campaign promoting the President’s re-election ambitions). In a fierce attack on Gomez Mazara, Pena Guaba called …

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