2004 – Page 104

Hipolito Mejia declared in his farewell address to the nation as President that he leaves office with a clean conscience. He said the high prices of petroleum and the collapse of several commercial banks were the main obstacles to his making a better government. ?I would have liked to govern the country during a period …

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With three days to go before leaving power, President Hipolito Mejia issued two decrees to promote new generals in the Armed Forces. These new generals are Maximo Medina Morel of the Air Force, Rubio Baez of the Army and Julio Ramirez of the Presidential Corps of Military Aides. President Mejia has overseen a record number …

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El Caribe newspaper reports today that the Attorney General?s office increased wages to 142 employees and officers by an average 65% shortly after the Mejia administration lost its re-election bid in May. Most of those rewarded worked in the Santo Domingo office of the Attorney General, although some were assigned to other prosecutors and prison …

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President Hipolito Mejia ordered his government to pay the interest on the 2013 coupon payment that is due on 27 August. During the government council meeting held last night at the Presidential Palace, Mejia authorized the payment of RD$1.2 billion, to be converted into US dollars to make up the amount due. Two checks dated …

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The Chamber of Deputies moved forward on the tax reform, with the approval of a first reading. The Chamber is scheduled to meet again on Sunday for the second reading. If approval is granted, the bill will then be sent to the Senate, where ratification will easier to obtain because of the absolute majority of …

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Hoy newspaper?s ?Que se dice? column speculates that the decline in the amount of pesos needed to buy one US dollar can be attributed to the fact that the government has not been buying dollars for propane gas imports. The blackouts are evidence, says the columnist, also of the considerable reduction in demand for dollars …

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President Hipolito Mejia changed his mind and now says he will sit for the entire change of mandate ceremony on Monday in Congress. Mejia had said he would leave after placing the Presidential banner on his successor, thus not having to hear the inaugural speech of President-elect Leonel Fernandez. There was speculation that if Mejia …

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A heads of government and state summit is being planned on occasion of the convergence in Santo Domingo of several leaders attending Leonel Fernandez?s Presidential inauguration. Felix Jimenez, in charge of protocol for the inaugural ceremonies, said that presidents and prime ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean would participate in what is being described …

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The Coalition of Protected Areas has requested that the Ministry of Environment ban construction activity in the National Park of the East until the Supreme Court of Justice has ruled on the legitimacy of the new Law 202-04 on Sectoral Protected Areas. The Coalition has protested the legality of the law that allows construction of …

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Former governor of the Central Bank and ambassador to Washington, DC, Bernardo Vega, is urging that Central America and the Caribbean join in the lobbying for an enactment of a European Union-style regional block that he describes as the only success story of integration. Speaking during the luncheon of the Dominican-Canadian Chamber of Commerce at …

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