2006 – Page 100

President and Mrs. Fernandez were guests at a luncheon hosted by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Annan gave a luncheon for the chiefs of state or heads of government who were attending the 61st General Assembly of the UN in New York. Yesterday evening, the President and Mrs. Fernandez attended a reception hosted by …

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The Dominican government is putting the finishing touches to a RD$36 billion bond issue that will be used to cover the Central Bank quasi-fiscal deficit. According to Diario Libre, the bonds will carry a 15% APR. The bond issue will be formalized by legislation that is due to be submitted to the PLD-led Congress, where …

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Senator Francisco Dominguez Brito (PLD-Santiago) has sent a bill to the Senate proposing that the National Treasury should pay city governments directly, ridding the country of the Dominican Municipal League as an intermediary institution, as reported in Clave Digital. “The LMD needs to concentrate on its role as technical and planning advisor to the city …

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Father Jose Luis Aleman, S.J., one of the nation’s more famous economists, has suggested that the government reduce public spending to comply with the IMF Stand-by agreement and close out 2006 with zero deficit in the public sector. Aleman, the director of the Economics School at the PUCMM University in Santo Domingo, highlighted the burden …

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Yesterday the Herrera Industries Association (AEIH) also asked the government to cut spending. AIEH suggested that the government eliminate all public institutions that are only used to “feed a bunch of bums,” to the detriment of most Dominicans. The association cited the Dominican Municipal League (LMD), The Price Stabilization Institute (INESPRE), the Corporation for State …

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The Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank are pushing Dominican authorities to impose “exemplary sanctions” on people convicted of bank fraud. This message was conveyed in a brief press release from the international financial agencies. The note, dated 16 September 2006 in Santo Domingo, says that the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank “and …

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The recent spate of longer-than-usual blackouts is explained by articles in today’s press that revealed an important decrease in generation capacity, with three major units going off-line. Itabo II (125 MW), Haina thermoelectric unit (40 MW) and AES-Andres (300 MW) all went off-line on Sunday and Monday. The problem was compounded by the failure of …

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With headlines more appropriate to World War II, the nation’s newspapers have announced the launch of a nationwide crusade against the Aedes Aegypti mosquito that is the vector for dengue fever. Vice President Rafael Alburquerque headed the ceremonies that launched the attack. The campaign is two-fold. On one front, hundreds of brigades will spray stagnant …

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The Technical Office for Land Transport (OTTT) has warned public transportation drivers that if they refuse to run their regular routes, and instead join the protests against the Plan Renove ruling, they will lose their routes, which will be given to other interested drivers. OTTT Director Pena Guadalupe made the warnings after many drivers joined …

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The Customs Department (DGA) has denied any claims of price gauging and blamed importers for undervaluing goods. The department justified having to adjust prices. The adjustment coincided with the elimination of the 13% surcharge on imports that was supposedly aimed at bringing about price reductions for consumers. The DGA argues that importers were undervaluing some …

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