2007 – Page 119

The National Department of Drug Control (DNCD) says that so far this year they have confiscated eight tons of drugs and arrested 15,600 for suspected drug trafficking or consumption. Among those detained are 10 minors that were being used as mules, said Major General Rafael Radhames Ramirez Ferreira, as reported in Hoy. He said that …

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Archbishop Ramon Benito de la Rosa y Carpio, president of the Dominican Council of Bishops, was lucky to walk away from a tragic accident on the Duarte Highway last Friday. The driver of a small pick-up smashed into the archbishop’s SUV near Bonao. The driver of the pick-up was killed in the accident. According to …

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Four Dominicans are climbing some of the world’s highest mountains. Ruben Torres, Luis Manuel Gonzalez, Ivan Gomez and Federico Jovine are on the third trek of their mountain climbing agenda, with a Crowning Europe 2007 expedition. In 2005 the hikers climbed Monte Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya in Africa, in 2006 they climbed Cerro Aconcagua, the …

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President Leonel Fernandez has instructed Treasury Minister Vicente Bengoa and Tax Department director Juan Hernandez to suspend the application of new rates for license plate renewals on the grounds that Dominicans should not be burdened with more taxes. Fernandez says that he will submit a bill to Congress to modify Article 9 of Law 241-67 …

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Economic, Planning and Development Minister Temistocles Montas says that the government guarantees the country’s economic stability even without the International Monetary Fund’s interference. Montas says that economic stability has always been the hallmark of the current government. Bengoa said that during Fernandez’s first presidency the PLD was characterized by stability even though there was no …

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Treasury Minster Vicente Bengoa is warning that any group interested in buying Shell’s shares in the Dominican Petroleum Refinery (REFIDOMSA) will have to pay capital gains tax. Bengoa said that he is warning any potential buyers to avoid a repetition of the impasse with Verizon when the telecommunications company was sold to a Mexican telecommunications …

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Former presidential hopeful Jose Tomas Perez is back on the scene after being appointed director general of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC). Perez replaces Norge Botello, who was designated Minster without Portfolio. A former senator for Santo Domingo, Perez dropped out of the race for the PLD presidential candidacy to support President Leonel Fernandez.

Employers have been slow going in paying the contributions to the government’s new health plan, the SFS, which is due to go into effect on 1 September. According to Law 87-01 employers have until 5 September to make the payments towards the new insurance plan. Companies need to pay 6.67% of wages into the plan, …

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The private sector owners of the flour mill on the banks of the Ozama River have made a purchase offer for the government’s 50% stake in the business. This news was revealed to El Caribe by Vinicio Mella, the president of Molinos de Ozama board of directors. According to Mella, the mill needs to inject …

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DR1 News erroneously reported on 21 August that the DR would be able to export sugar to the US with relatively low tariffs following a recent increase in the sugar export quota, as reported in Listin Diario. The US Trade Representative Office (USTR) increased the DR’s sugar export quota to 185,335 metric tons per year. …

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