2005 – Page 196

Jeffry Sachs, the Columbia University economic guru and advisor to the United Nations, spoke to the President of the Dominican Republic and a select audience of high-ranking officials in the Presidential Palace last night. In his talk he pointed out that the politicizing of the bureaucracy is a major hindrance to the development of the …

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Miguel Cocco, the director general of the Customs Department, spoke at the monthly luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce in Santo Domingo. It was an interesting talk. According to Cocco, the Customs office has agreed with importers to recover RD$1.64 billion in unpaid taxes on imports. During his talk, Cocco also rejected the accusation …

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On the heels of the speech, it seems that both Elena Viyella and Miguel Cocco Guerrero are on the same page with reference to the tax called the Exchange Commission (recargo cambiario). That is, a tax on the dollars used to purchase merchandise overseas. This tax, originally instituted as a “temporary” surcharge, was recently raised …

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Lawyer Felix Olivares, the criminal defense lawyer for several of the defendants in the Renove scandal case, as well as for accused drug trafficker Quirino Paulino Castillo, told reporters that his client, Sam Goodson, did not flee the country as reported yesterday. Olivares told El Caribe journalists that Goodson was just taking precautions and is …

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Architect Carlos Polibio Michel, “Kalil” to his friends and enemies alike, denied that he had any ties to accused drug trafficker Quirino Paulino Castillo, and places his position as a deputy minister of Public Works at the disposition of President Fernandez. Kalil did admit, however, that in 2002 he did sell two fairly luxurious apartments …

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The latest decorator of the Supreme Court building seems to have been capable of obtaining contracts from politicians. Margarita Gomez worked for Leonel Fernandez and for the departed PRD leader, Jose Francisco Pena Gomez. El Caribe reports that Gomez worked on the house that PRD leader Pena Gomez had in Cambita, San Cristobal. The RD$241.8 …

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Marisol Vicens, a lawyer and former head of the Young Entrepreneurs Association (ANJE), takes on original sin in her column in El Caribe today. In this case, she talks about the Supreme Court building and the scandal that is getting bigger every day. Vicens says that politicians and public officials have to be careful with …

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Jose Mesa, the Dominican pitcher that one sports writer called the “man that put ‘journey’ in journeyman,” achieved a milestone yesterday as he joined Mariano Rivera and Roberto Hernandez in the exclusive club of 300 saves in Major League Baseball. Mesa, who started his big-league career as a starting pitcher, became a “closer” a “stopper” …

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The 900,000 people that have contracts with one of the electric distributors (EdeNorte, EdeSur or EdeEste) are paying for the electricity being used by the two million people that have lights in their houses or places of business. Which is to say that 45% of the users are paying for 100% of the electricity. So …

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Technical Minister of the Presidency Temistocles Montas told reporters that the government is in talks with the IMF to reduce or remove some of the restrictions that were placed on financial institutions and that have reduced access to credit for many businesses. The modifications would become part of the “Rules for Evaluating Assets” that the …

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