2004 – Page 245

The Listin Diario reports this morning that the shortages in certain basic goods is beginning to make itself felt on the supermarket shelves, due to transport rationing and the suspension of a large proportion of imports. Pablo Adon, president of the national traders’ union (Unaco), called on the authorities to pay heed to the situation, …

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The crisis in the power sector, which has seen the country plunged into prolonged blackouts over the last week, has hit a new low point with the announcement that the US corporation AES wants to sell its 50% share in power distribution company Ede-Este. This follows negotiations between AES and its partner, the Dominican government, …

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The Listin Diario reports that the government has set up a negotiating committee, led by army chief Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez and AMET chief Pedro de Jesus Candelier, “to investigate the reasons for the power companies withholding electricity due to disputed debts the government knows nothing about.” For example, the government claims it owes just …

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The newspapers report a slight amelioration in the diesel shortage that has affected consumers over the last few days, with the arrival of a tanker with 5 million gallons of the fuel. The Dominican refineries had been rationing diesel (gasoil) at a time of increased demand; extended power cuts have meant that power back-up generators …

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Presidential Office Technical Secretary Carlos Despradel has announced that 11 February is the date for the signing of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund. He also revealed that a Dominican delegation would be attending talks next week with the Paris Club to renegotiate the terms of the country’s debt repayments. The government has said …

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The Santo Domingo office of the World Bank has launched a website offering information to the public about the institution and its programs in the Dominican Republic. World Bank representative Marco Mantovanelli described it as “the first step in a more solid relationship with the Dominican public, and a more provocative and dynamic means of …

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The newspapers report that former United States President George Bush Senior and father of the current US President, will arrive in the country today on a private visit to the Casa de Campo vacation complex in La Romana. He is the guest of Venezuelan magnate Gustavo Cisneros, and it is believed that he is also …

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Former Dominican Republic Ambassador in the OAS, Flavio Dario Espinal, writing in El Caribe newspaper, challenges the widespread belief that the United States is tacitly supporting current machinations by the ruling party because of the Dominican government’s support for the war in Iraq, symbolized by the deployment of troops there. Espinal, who is dean of …

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Second Private Luis Moreno, 19, has became the third Dominican casualty in the Iraqi conflict, following the deaths of Steven Checo and Raiyan Tejada. Moreno died of wounds received on 23 January in Baghdad, Iraq. He had joined the US Army in January 2003 and was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was then assigned …

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The head of the Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, said at a religious service yesterday that the country has been “totally abandoned, unprotected and exposed,” as he called on the public to “express their views” in the May elections. The Cardinal is known for his uncompromising stance on …

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