2007 – Page 18

Seventy percent of Dominicans think that the economy is performing badly (28.1% very bad, 41.8% bad), compared to 11% who consider it to be performing very well or well (0.8% and 10.2%). Furthermore, the same Gallup-Hoy poll of 28 Nov-2 December showed that 48% believes that the country’s economic situation will worsen by the time …

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The Dominican government, under immense pressure from all sides, has decided to rescind its contract with the Sun Land Corporation, signed on 15 May 2006. The deal involved the signing of US$130 million in IOUs by the Supervising Engineer of State Public Works, Felix Bautista, with the authorization of the Executive Branch. The government indicated …

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The Leonel Fernandez government has had to face 18 major scandals in just 33 months in office. These issues have forced the President to come to the defense of his administration in the most notorious of cases. The PEME case, which dated back to the first Fernandez administration, was dropped in March. Other cases include …

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At least 1,054 Dominicans have been deported from Spain, according to the latest reports. The Diario Libre says that most of the deportees were sent back to the Dominican Republic because of fake documents. Close to 75% of the deportees were female (723). Among the forged documents used were birth certificates, residence cards, passports and …

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The National Metereological Office (Onamet) has issued a Red Alert and local emergency services are preparing for a new weather system that is approaching from the east-northeast. According to Onamet director, Gloria Ceballos, the “area of disturbance” could become a tropical storm and is quite near the island. This system will carry heavy rains for …

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Not much baseball was played over the weekend, but Friday’s results changed the standing quite a bit. The Aguilas Cibaenas defeated the Tigres del Licey, 4-0, behind the wonderful pitching of Derek Lee. Lee threw 8 1/3 innings of shutout baseball against the Tigres. He allowed just four hits, and Nicaraguan Deven Hansack got the …

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President Leonel Fernandez says that despite the government’s many responsibilities, it is obliged to maintain economic stability. He claimed that poverty in the country has decreased significantly during his presidential term. Fernandez made these comments during a visit to Santiago where he handed out the 300,000th solidarity card to Ana Silvia Duran Minaya. The debit …

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The government has yet to send the 2008 budget to Congress because it hasn’t been able to fulfill the requirements set forth by the International Monetary Fund. Among the IMF’s requirements is that the level of primary budget surplus, meaning total expenditures minus interest payments on the public debt, should be 2.0% of the GDP, …

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The first round of Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Canada is scheduled for 10 to 14 December 2007 in Ottawa. It is anticipated that Canada and the DR will exchange initial tariff offers for goods by early 2008 with subsequent requests for improvements to the other party’s tariff offer. On 7 June 2007, David Emerson, …

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Fernandez administration comptroller Simon Lizardo wants to know where the 14th salary, which Congress is proposing for public employees, will come from. The wage would be paid in July and would help cover back to school costs. In a letter sent to the head of the Labor Commission at the Chamber of Deputies, Lizardo says …

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