2008 – Page 223

The government’s Chamber of Accounts has announced the suspension of all ongoing audits of government agencies until after the elections. This information was provided to the media by one of the magistrates, Henry Mejia. Mejia said that one of the main reasons for the decision was that many of the public buildings that were being …

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The external auditor’s report on the Dominican Republic Central Bank prepared by Price Waterhouse Cooper tends to awaken some doubts about the macroeconomic successes claimed by the government, as well as the apparent success in the handling of monetary policy. Listin Diario takes a glance at the Central Bank’s deficit and the government’s income as …

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The executive vice president of the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (FINJUS) has commented that the Sun Land case reflects the deficiency of constitutional justice in the DR. Servio Tulio Castanos Guzman said there are no requirements for deadlines or consequences for delays in the Supreme Court of Justice ruling on requests for their opinion …

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The Dominican Telephone Company (CODETEL) has expanded its “Rural Broadband Connections” program by linking three more communities to the Internet. The program is designed to bring the Internet to the country’s remotest communities and serve a million and a half people who do not have access to this type of communication. A total of 20 …

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The Institute for Biological and Industrial Innovations (IIBI) proposed substituting 20% of the wheat flour used in making bread with flour from other sources, such as the prickly pear or other succulents. According to Bernarda Castillo, the director of IIBI, this is a tried and tested process, and would help reduce the cost of producing …

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The price of chicken has once again risen, although reporters found price swings of as much as ten pesos while researching the story. Doris Pantaleon and Nestor Medrano reported that some retail outlets were selling chicken for between RD$38 and RD$45 a pound in several barrios and supermarkets. They also report that cooking oil has …

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DR-CAFTA seems to be working only one way, with a significant increase in imports from the United States. The trade deficit for the first three months of the year increased to US$688 million, up from US$426 million for the same period in 2007. Imports were US$1.6 billion, up from US$1.4 billion. At the same time, …

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The Dominican Association of Housing Promoters and Builders (Acoprovi) says that housing sales are down 50%. This sort of news would be catastrophic in the United States, but apparently it is going unnoticed in the Dominican Republic. According to Acoprovi spokesperson Jaime Gonzalez, the downturn in housing sales is due to the large increases in …

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CNN’s Claudia Palacios, a prominent commentator from the all-news network, is currently covering the Dominican elections. According to an interview in Hoy, the Colombian television personality sees only slow change in the political scene in the Dominican Republic. Palacios told Hoy reporter Adalberto de la Rosa that there are several parallels between the Dominican political …

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At least five people were killed and many more were injured when a truck and a small van full of political activists collided near the El Soco River bridge between La Romana and San Pedro de Macoris. Newspaper reports vary, but it appears that the van driver was driving carelessly. At least twenty other passengers …

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