2007 – Page 144

President Leonel Fernandez has promised the members of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) sufficient funding for the successful celebration of the May 2008 presidential elections. Fernandez met with the entire JCE at the Presidential Palace last Friday. He received a detailed report from the judges of the government body in charge of civil registry and …

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Before defining any new rules and regulations for the electoral process, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) will hold consultations with the country’s political parties. According to JCE chief magistrate Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman, the board will not approve the new rules without consultation. He said that once the entire board approves the project that was …

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The Tax Department (DGII) has announced that 33% of vehicles will pay an increase of between 36% and 150% for their new license plates. Another 55% will pay a 25% increase and the remaining 12% will pay more than 500% in new taxes, taxes, Alfredo Mirabal of the Motor Vehicle Department told El Caribe. Vehicles …

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In two-page announcements in today’s newspapers, the Department of Taxes (DGII) has removed 17 of the smaller and more bothersome taxes on the books. Several of these taxes, primarily the stamps required for government documents, cost more than they produced for the government. The DGII removed taxes on tickets to public events, documents, medical certificates, …

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Both the Central Electoral Board and the Ministry of Public Health accept shared responsibility for the inconveniences caused by the failure to put the new Foreigners’ Register into operation. There have been several cases of foreign mothers who gave birth in the Dominican Republic but were not able to register their children, resulting in their …

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Juan Guiliani, deputy minister in charge of trade negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, has told Diario Libre that negotiations leading to a free trade agreement with Canada are due to begin this coming October. The talks could continue through May or June 2008. The first round, which is set to start in Santo …

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Patronage, a pervasive part of Dominican politics, has been blamed for the creation of the controversial “petty cash boxes” – large sums of money given to each Congress member for their discretional use. Constituents besiege legislators with requests for help with problems of every possible type: from burial expenses to new schools or water supplies. …

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No longer will exceptions to the rules in the books be needed for children of undocumented Haitians to be able to register at public and private schools in the north of the Dominican Republic, according to Pedro Diep, the regional director for the Ministry of Education. Education officials told reporters from the Spanish news agency …

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At least 39 types of medicines on the shelves of Dominican pharmacies have either been discontinued or otherwise noted by the FDA because of changed formulas or other issues. The long list is on the front page of today’s Listin Diario. The Drugstore Owners Association says that the Public Health Ministry is responsible for all …

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The informal business sector, mostly made up of street vendors, is doing so well that many workers are leaving salaried positions to venture out into the streets. Low income earning Dominicans and Haitians are leaving construction sites and sugar fields to set up shop in the street. According to a report in today’s Listin Diario, …

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