2004 – Page 72

Colombian award-winning and bestselling author Laura Restrepo is visiting the DR to promote her works. She will present her latest novel “Delirio” for which she won the Premio Alfaguara 2004. She will speak at the Paraninfo de Humanidades at the UASD at 5pm and will also meet with the general public at Thesaurus bookstore at …

Read more…

US Ambassador Hans Hertell says that Dominican cigars are “in” again, after US President George W Bush was seen smoking them, as well as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hertell says that the demand is such that every time he travels to the US he must take a box with him to distribute among the US …

Read more…

The Dominican Professional Winter Baseball Championship opens 22 October with games to be played in Santo Domingo (Licey vs Escogido), San Francisco de Macoris (Aguilas Cibaenas vs Gigantes del Cibao) and San Pedro de Macoris (Estrellas Orientales vs Toros del Este). The cost of the games, however, may spoil the fun for many and make …

Read more…

A new penal code goes into effect today in the Dominican Republic. The new judicial framework replaces the 120-year-old code that was translated and adapted from French laws back in 1884. The new code, which was ratified on 19 July 2002, is inclined more to a US model of justice, even going steps beyond in …

Read more…

The Education Ministry of Education announced the re-initiation of the school breakfast program in public schools nationwide. The project provides a major incentive for low-income parents to send their children to school. Education Minister Alejandrina German said that to begin some 1.5 million rations will be distributed at a cost of RD$17 million a day.

The Public Works Ministry announced the start of the construction of the Santiago City Park on the centrally-located, former grounds of the Cibao Airport. The airport was relocated in 2002 to the outskirts of Santiago. The government said the park’s design will be entrusted to the architectural firm of Gustavo More, the winner of the …

Read more…

The Senate has approved the final, second reading of the tax reform bill, thereby placing the burden of raising additional funds, needed to pay for the previous government’s inefficiency and a hefty government bureaucracy that has not been reduced, squarely on the shoulders of the Dominican citizenry. The tax bill, which among other things raises …

Read more…

El Caribe newspaper looks into what the newly-approved tax reform bill will mean for their budgets. The newspaper says that the increase in the ITBIS sales tax from 12% to 16% translates into a 2.71% increase in the price of basic goods, such as certain processed food items, clothing, furniture, appliances, entertainment, telecommunications, legal services …

Read more…

A technical mission from the International Monetary Fund arrived in the DR today to resume talks with the Dominican government that could lead to the resumption of the standby agreement. The Listin Diario reports that the economic advisor to the Executive Branch, Julio Ortega, says the plan is to extend the accord for a two-year …

Read more…

Geoffrey Gottlieb, associate economist of Goldman, Sachs & Co. writes on the implications of the passing of the tax reform and the problems still ahead. In his emerging markets daily economic comment published today, Gottlieb writes that the problem is that an IMF program that is needed to prevent a substantial default to the official …

Read more…