2004 – Page 143

The AES Ede-Este power distributor reportedly contracted a US$50-million loan at an annual interest rate of 18%, when the average rate being offered by banks fluctuated from 10-13%, as reported in Hoy newspaper today. An audit carried out on the company, in which the Dominican state is owner of half the shares, indicates that the …

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Julio Suero Marranzini, the director general of Santo Domingo?s water utility (CAASD), affirmed yesterday that the proposed legislation to reform the potable water and drainage sector has been stripped of its essence. He said that a reform of the sector has been discussed since the previous government administration and that their proposals were submitted to …

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Several commentaries from the World Bank being the solution to the current energy crisis came to a shuddering halt yesterday, when the newly-arrived representative of the WB, Christina Malmberg, told reporters of the Diario Libre that the bank had halted disbursements due to the repurchase of the Edes in 2003. The WB representative said that …

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Leading economist and CENANTILLAS director Pedro Silverio writes in today?s El Caribe that the Dominican economy is full of duplications, citing three examples: electricity, the police and education. Regarding the electricity, Silverio points out that, although the country has an installed capacity to generate more than enough supply to satisfy national demand, public confidence in …

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Three companies ? two foreign and one Dominican ? have each declared an interest in sponsoring the construction of a golf course along Santo Domingo?s ocean-fronting boulevard, the Malecon. The parties have submitted their proposals to the National District?s municipal authorities. The city government?s secretary, Domingo Contreras, explained that the project outlines were presented by …

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President Hipolito Mejia and President-elect Leonel Fernandez will be present at today?s 10am talk titled ?Initiative to Surpass the Crisis? and given by former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez in Congress. Gonzalez had lobbied for the meeting between the two politicians, an event which is to be televised. Later they will meet in private at …

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The PRD has chosen former Senate president Andres Bautista to preside anew over the Senate for 2004-2005. Twenty of the 21 senators present gave him the necessary votes to return to his post as Senate leader. The position is of importance because it is this person who sets the Senate?s agenda. Since the PRD holds …

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President-elect Leonel Fernandez met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Caracas yesterday. They focused on formulas to improve conditions under which Venezuela sells its petroleum to the DR. Fernandez told journalists that they spoke primarily about the San Jose Accord that governs sales of Venezuelan crude to the DR. The DR sources most of its …

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The director of the Institute of Energy of the UASD said that it is true that power companies are altering power bills to charge consumers more. Jose Luis Moreno San Juan, who originally came to the DR to work for the Spanish company Union Fenosa, says that because of his work experience he knows that …

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Jose Luis Moreno San Juan told the Listin Diario that the main distortion in the electricity system affecting consumers is the fact that they are being billed for extra costs not covered by the Electricity Law. Legislation in effect requires the power distributors to give users credits for every hour of blackout. Moreno San Juan, …

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