2004 – Page 94

The new superintendent of electricity, Francisco Mendez, told reporters that he and his team would resolve the current crisis in the electric sector by using the ten points outlined in President Fernandez’s inaugural speech. During the first two weeks of the new PLD administration, a plan has been sketched out for the short, medium and …

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It appears that the government is planning to abolish subsidies for electric power customers who consume more than 200mw per month before renegotiating the contracts and making the process transparent, as promised by President Leonel Fernandez during his inaugural speech on 16 August. The reason given by Electricity Superintendent Francisco Mendez was that the renegotiation …

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The papers this morning give prominence to the story of outgoing Attorney General, Victor Cespedes Martinez and his ruling to drop the case against the 727 individuals accused of illegal land expropriation in the Bahia de las Aguilas, an area of exceptional natural beauty which is part of the Jaragua National Park nature reserve in …

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Diario Libre reports from Jimani, the southwestern town devastated by flash flooding in May this year. Jimani, it says, has returned to its former status as a “forgotten town on the Haitian border” that has been neglected by the government. Several survivors of the disaster told the newspaper that they have been abandoned, underscoring the …

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Following a lengthy debate, the Chamber of Deputies approved the modified tax reform package last night in a second reading. The legislation, which was compiled by the PLD and submitted to Congress by former President Hipolito Mejia, went through with the “critical votes” of the PRD and PRSC opposition parties, according to the Listin Diario. …

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Decree 1014-04 named the new Dominican consuls in New York and Miami, as well as those in the Haitian city of Anse-a-Pitre, Boston and Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Laura Faxas was appointed as the Dominican ambassador to UNESCO. Decree 1012-04 named Belarminio Javier Gonzalez as consul-general in Miami, and five vice-consuls to serve under him. Decree …

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Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito yesterday revoked an order issued by his predecessor Victor Cespedes last 14 August that freed convicted drug trafficker Ormis Freddy Pena Mendez, and another that freed heroin trafficker Maritza Aquino, a woman convicted for carrying 129 packets of heroin in her stomach. Aquino, upon her release, was sent to the …

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The government will provide a “special” fund for the Public Health Ministry in order to pay the overdue subsidies to the hospitals and to allow for expenditures for medicines and fuel for the generators. The exact amount is as of yet unknown, but believed to be between RD$150 and RD$200 million. According to the newly-appointed …

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The generous subsidy that the government provides for propane gas users in every walk of life, which costs the government a whopping RD$200 million a week, will be partially maintained until January, according to Industry & Commerce Minister Francisco Javier Garcia. While assistance for household use of the fuel will be kept intact, the ministry …

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Between now and December, the Dominican Republic is due to pay US$352 million, a sum that includes the deferred payments pending to several international organizations. Mario Mendez, the economic editor of Hoy, reports that the country has not been relegated to default status only because the creditors have taken a flexible attitude and prefer to …

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