2004 – Page 57

Under the aegis of the San Jose Accords, Venezuela has agreed to a US$39-million loan that was first negotiated during the first Fernandez administration and will be used to finance the purchase of passenger vehicles and for the construction, re-construction and equipping of sports installations. By way of Presidential Decree No. 685-04, President Fernandez authorized …

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The reserve accounts of banks with dollar deposits have increased by 78% since 2003 and so far this year the Central Bank has US$368 million in its coffers. The increase in the legally-mandated reserves has helped the Central Bank overcome the steady decrease in hard currency reserves that was observed over the past year. Without …

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The Dominican Senate approved last night, after certain modifications and just one reading, a 30% increase in the minimum wage for public servants and private employees. Nineteen of the twenty senators present in the chamber voted affirmatively on the measure. The PLD’s Senator Jose Tomas Perez (Santo Domingo) abstained. Perez had proposed that the legislation …

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The CDEEE, the Dominican entity that participates in the electric sector, and AES-Andres, the independent power supplier located in Andres, Boca Chica, are fighting ? again. The CDEEE says that it does not owe any money to AES, and that, in fact, AES owes the CDEEE a total of RD$1.852 billion. Nevertheless, the AES-Dominicana Group, …

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Franco Uccelli, who covers the Dominican Republic for the Bear Stearns brokerage firm, reports on the trip of a high-ranking Dominican delegation to Madrid this week to negotiate with the Spanish government a US$250-million bridge loan that he explains would be used to offset part of the US$400 million in external debt service obligations it …

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The Central Electoral Board (JCE) is continuing its efforts to modernize the Dominican electoral process by signing contracts with three companies who will provide the platforms for electronic voting in the near future. With an investment of close to US$63 million and a deadline of November 2005, the Dominican-Puerto Rican-Brazilian consortium will provide the means …

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The Dominican Armed Forces’ contract for US$10 million in military equipment has soared to an astounding US$76 million, thanks to an amendment to the document. The Dominican Congress approved the first US$10 million and a contract authorizing increases in the financing of the military equipment bypassing the constitutional requirement of congressional approval. Diario Libre points …

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The Parador del Mar cost the Dominican government RD$573 million to equip the area with marginal access roads, according to a source quoted in the Listin Diario. The side roads were constructed by the firm of Constructora Go & Thesa out of San Francisco de Macoris, as headed by Hector Then and are rarely being …

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The Mejia administration requested and received RD$4 billion in pre-payments on taxes from industrial and commercial entities, a detail that will affect the Internal Revenue (DGII) department’s final numbers for the year, according to Juan Hernandez, the DGII boss. The official pointed out that Verizon alone advanced the government RD$2 billion in anticipated taxes. According …

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The Diario Libre is reporting that as many as 65 Dominican truck drivers are currently en route to Jordan, where they will begin transporting fuel trucks for a salary of US$1,500 a month. Some observers consider this wage a pittance, not even enough to cover funeral costs. In an article written by Cornelio Batista, Diario …

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