2004 – Page 46

As a member of the ACP nations (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific), the Dominican Republic and its banana industry will benefit greatly from the increased tariffs agreed upon by the European Union. These tariffs increase the tax on bananas from ?75 per ton to ?230 per ton on fruit coming from non-ACP nations. The measure, as …

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As the Most Valuable Player of the Yankees-Red Sox playoffs, Dominican slugger David Ortiz has been chosen to be featured on “The Breakfast of Champions” package. Commenting on the sponsorship, Ortiz told the press that he still prefers “mangu,” the popular Dominican breakfast of mashed plantains. Others who have had their images represented on the …

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In a meeting that lasted several hours, the government’s Economic Cabinet and the IMF delegation currently in country hashed out the structure of the 2005 budget law. Sources close to the action told Hoy newspaper that there were hopes that the negotiations would be finalized by week’s end. One source said there had been “significant …

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Hector Valdez Albizu’s speech to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the Dominican Republic’s Central Bank pointed out that the “preliminary result of the overall balance of payments during the January 2004-September 2004 period was US$158 million in favor of the Dominican Republic,” and that this will continue to the end of the year and close …

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The National Salaries Commission, a subordinate group of the Ministry of Labor, has warned the National Business Council (CONEP) that the agreement for a 25% increase on the salaries ranging between the minimum wage and RD$20,000 per month carries the validity of the law. The resolution that announced the new wage increase was reported last …

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The industrial sector represents one of the major fraud problems for the electrical distributors known as the EDEs, who are now talking lawsuits in order to collect sums that ascend into the millions of pesos. According to Ruben Bichara, EdeNorte and EdeSur have 47 clients that owe a combined RD$154 million, and if some payment …

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The mayors of Boca Chica, Santo Domingo North and Santo Domingo East issued a joint declaration that states the problem with the Duquesa Refuse Depository was financially-motivated above all else. They laid the blame on the mayors of the National District and Santo Domingo West for having broken the working agreement. This pact was signed …

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In four years the National Office on Drug Control (DNCD) has confiscated RD$40 million and US$1 million, and has indicted 16,000 people on various drug charges. So far, 2004 looks like a small victory in the war on drugs, with only 599 kilograms of drugs having been confiscated and destroyed, down from a high of …

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US Ambassador Hans Hertell went to the Presidential Palace yesterday for a long meeting with the Presidential legal consultant. The agenda of the meeting covered the new procedures for the extradition of Dominicans to the United States and the 10 cases that currently pending extradition. Hertell and Cesar Pina Toribio met for discussion, after which …

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The Dominican government has paid RD$1.542 billion to the nation’s political parties over the last six years. This sum will increase markedly with the new Primary Law that obliges the governmental electoral board (JCE) to organize each party’s primary elections. At RD$257 million per year, the sum spent on political parties, which does not include …

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