2004 – Page 97

The members of the defeated PPH faction of the PRD have only the National Congress to turn to for new jobs, according to the author of the ?De buena tinta? column in today?s Diario Libre. He says that Alfredo Pacheco and Andres Bautista, the leaders of the lower and upper houses of Congress, are now …

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President Leonel Fernandez continued his stream of appointments to fill the bureaucratic posts of the new PLD government. By way of Decree 912-04, Fernandez called on Ignacio Ditren to head the OMSA (Metropolitan Office for Autobus Service) and Kirsys Fernandez to lead CONANI (National Council on Children), and named Juan Bautista Gomez as a member …

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Another 31 generals were retired by the Chief Executive yesterday, including the most famous officer currently serving the Armed Forces or the National Police, Pedro de Jesus Candelier Tejada. Decree 926-04 placed the generals and 7 colonels into official retirement and, combined with the 99 generals retired by President Fernandez earlier this week, comprise a …

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The most prominent figures of the new PLD administration held their first genuine policy meeting yesterday and spent over four hours debating various hot topics facing the country. Today?s headlines provide a summary of the discussions, whose subject matter included a 20% reduction in the public payroll, meaning 68,000 fewer government jobs; the IMF?s stance …

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The special commission created by the Chamber of Deputies to study the proposed new tax package decided last night not to increase the current 6% VAT that is assessed on publicity. Marino Collante, the chairman of the commission charged with the task of analyzing the many varied fiscal proposals submitted by dozens of institutions and …

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A larger number of people leaving the Dominican Republic has produced a RD$1-billion windfall for the National Treasury. According to Idonelia Perez Blanco at El Caribe, the economic crisis has prompted many to leave the country and during the first seven months of this year, 291,000 more people went through the nation?s departure terminals than …

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The arrival, as announced in DR1 News yesterday, of a tanker of liquid natural gas has allowed AES-Andres to up its production to 362 MW, a big help in the current electricity situation. However, as reported in today?s El Caribe, the solution may be temporary as officials of AES state that the continuation of their …

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Industry & Commerce Minister Francisco Javier Garcia told reporters from the Diario Libre that his team would aim the propane subsidy at family units in order to implement the funding more efficiently. Currently, the industrial sector uses 22% of all local propane and gains about RD$162 million in the process. According to the minister, this …

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Most of the projects begun under the auspices of the Cotonu Accords (formerly called Lome IV) have been delayed because the Dominican government has not put up its counterpart funding. Onefre Rojas, the controller for the National Office for European Funds, told reporters from Hoy that the Dominican side has not yet fulfilled the 15% …

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OMSA, the public transport service, put 250 vehicles into service yesterday, after receiving a shipment of fuels that included 20,000 gallons of gasoil for use in Santo Domingo and 10,000 gallons more for Santiago. Ignacio Ditren, OMSA?s newly appointed director, said he was working to get most of the organization?s vehicles back on the road, …

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