2004 – Page 83

The numbers indicate that food and beverages experienced a deceleration in their prices, gaining only 0.90% during the month which is nearly one third of the July rate of 2.52%. According to the Central Bank, the modest increase for this group of items – one that has a major influence on a family’s expenditures – …

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Mechanical failures, short circuits and the weather have caused the electricity situation to return to its “life support” status, with service fulfilling only 56% of the national energy demand. Most of the power stations have reduced their output in order to save fuel and EGE-Haina shut down its most important generator, the Sultana del Este, …

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Because of the recent attacks on women by people pretending to be police agents, El Caribe carries a short piece that identifies each of the seven different uniforms used by the National Police. The basic uniform is grey from top to bottom and has been in use since 1936. Normally, dark grey pants and a …

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Only 7,777 of the 13,465 students who took the obligatory National Tests for the Eighth Grade passed, according to a report. The regions of Azua (42.11%), Santo Domingo (43.63%) and Santiago (48.08%) had the lowest pass rates, whereas the highest rates of success were in San Juan de la Maguana (84.76%), San Pedro de Macoris …

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The government of Leonel Fernandez has announced an ambitious program of public works that aims to spend RD$2.1 billion on projects that are, for the most part, well underway. After meeting with President Fernandez, Public Works Minister Freddy Perez told reporters that the various constructions and refurbishment of projects would be finished within 100 days. …

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Armed Forces Minister Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez told reporters that 375 officials had been demoted and 500 others had their status revoked. The admiral also said that several officials with the rank of pilot were denied their title because they lacked enough flight hours. Pared Perez told El Caribe that many of the officers knew …

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One of the most important challenges facing the government is that of finding a solution that would allow it to fulfill the demands made by the Paris Club with regards to the equality of treatment of the public and private debts. According to sources at yesterday’s meeting, local economists were contemplating how to fulfill these …

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Opposition party economist and former Central Bank governor Guillermo Caram writes in El Caribe today to suggest that the government make a genuine effort to effectuate the austerity it has touted, instead of seeking to secure new revenues through increased taxes on the population. Instead of approving the tax reform that he says has been …

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Eric Dorrejo, an architect who holds a doctorate from the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, writes to El Caribe to criticize the government’s decision to build a metro in Santo Domingo. He says the metro has been resurrected as the solution to the transportation chaos, and that each government arrives with a new plan every four …

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As the media continues to focus on the National Police and their misappropriation of retrieved stolen vehicles, the Listin Diario reports today on a fleet of luxury vehicles that has mysteriously vanished from official custody. At least 30 vehicles that were once the property of deceased engineer and former Navy second lieutenant Gustavo Isidro Zayas …

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