2005 – Page 28

A group of German doctors volunteered their skills and expertise during a week long stay in the remote community of Las Lagunas, in the Central Cordillera. Clave Digital reports that the group, under the auspices of German NGO Eine Welt E.V. and Santiago based Dominican health organization ILAC, treated 750 patients free of charge for …

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When President Leonel Fernandez visited the northeastern town of Sanchez four months ago, he pledged that the families affected by subsidence would be re-housed. In a report in today’s Diario Libre, the families complain that they are still waiting. The authorities have promised to build new houses for the 190 affected families, whose homes are …

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The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) annual report on the Dominican Republic makes somber reading, especially when it comes to educational statistics. As many as half the total number of students in primary education only reach 4th grade level. Just 22% of the total complete primary school and once they reach high school graduation level, …

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The authorities are claiming that the country’s fuel consumption has been reduced by 34% since August, largely as a result of the national fuel savings plan that has been in action during this period. Consumption in October is 34% lower than in August, and 34% less when compared to the same month last year, according …

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The tax reform proposal continues to dominate the news, with the IMF, the United States Department of Commerce, the PRD and the government all expressing opinions and demands. Jose Fajgenbaum, the IMF representative in the DR, has asked Congress not to change the legislation that the government has submitted for the tax reforms program. He …

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The Papal Nuncio for the Dominican Republic, Bishop Timothy Broglio, says that the international community has washed its hands of the Haitian situation as if it were Pontius Pilate. He said that the disintegration of the Haitian state should not fall on the shoulders of the Dominican Republic, and that the country could “not support …

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A story in yesterday’s New York Times points out some of the difficulties faced by Haitian immigrant workers. The story recounts the violence that has plagued some areas in the northwest of the Dominican Republic ever since a robbery in Hatillo Palma left a woman dead and her husband wounded. The reporter, Ginger Thompson, also …

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Government intervention in private conversations over the telephone in the name of “national security” is on the increase, and equipment for listening in on phone conversations is becoming a lucrative business. According to El Caribe, it was Minu Torres, while serving as Administrative Minister for the Presidency, who complained that her telephone was being tapped. …

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According to figures from the Central Bank, the Dominican peso can now purchase 38.1% more now, compared to a year ago. This is the result of a much lower inflation rate, which has fallen from 32.88% a year ago to just 7.31% for 2005. In other words, a person with a salary of RD$20,000 per …

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The black market, the illegal sale of goods and services at prices that the market will bear, is doing fine in the Dominican Republic. According to the latest report in Listin Diario, total sales by black marketeers are close to RD$50 million a year. Their business is carried out far from the law, without scruples …

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