2008 – Page 299

Santo Domingo Mayor Roberto Salcedo and Sans Souci Touristic Ports president Lisandro Macarrulla were the key figures at a symbolic ground breaking ceremony at the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Park. The municipality is prioritizing the remodeling of the park and the Guibia and Juan Baron plazas along Santo Domingo’s seafront boulevard, the Malecon. An investment …

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The National Competitiveness Council (CNC) launched a virtual facility yesterday, enabling companies to cut through the governmental red tape needed to form a company in 78 hours, down from the present 22 days. The online service is available through creatuempresa.gob.do The new service reduces the time and effort needed to set up a company by …

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Economy Minister Temistocles Montas announced that the Ministry had opened a letter of credit in a local commercial bank to pay promissory notes that are due this year, as reported in Listin Diario. With this statement, the Dominican government is acknowledging that the promissory notes are in fact part of the country’s public debt. The …

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The Department of Taxes says that it collected RD$141.4 billion in 2007, which was RD$30.1 million more than collections in 2006, for a 27.1% increase. He said taxes totaled RD$12.2 billion more than the target for the period. He said the results are due to more effective tax systems in place. Companies and individuals paid …

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The Central Electoral Board has sent the voting register for the 2008 elections to all the political parties. In all, 5,764,986 people are registered to vote. Listin Diario explains that 6,781 people were removed from the register because they became military personnel. This is up from 5,369,064 Dominicans able to vote as of the 2006 …

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The number of Dominican expatriates traveling home declined by 8.1% in January 2008, compared to travel during the same period the previous year. The decline in return visits could be as a result of the housing and fiscal troubles in the US. During the first month of the year, 38,074 non-resident Dominicans visited the country, …

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If you are looking for a hotel room in the DR, good luck! According to Hoy, hotels are experiencing record occupancy rates. Thelma Martinez from the National Hotel and Restaurant Association (ASONAHORES) says that hotel owners are having to perform juggling acts to meet the demand. Martinez added that in the last few years the …

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The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) held a workshop last week in Bridgetown, Barbados with regional media personnel to discuss in detail the recently agreed upon Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union. The CRNM, the Barbadian based negotiating arm of CARIFORUM (CARICOM plus the DR), was represented by Director General Richard Bernal, Senior …

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Los Guaricanos, an impoverished area of Santo Domingo, could lose an RD$400 million donation to build a new hospital because the government has failed to provide land for the hospital. The donation was made by Yale University Hospital to the Santo Domingo North Municipality, according to Evelio Fabio Mota and Cesar Valdez, country directors for …

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Yesterday Industry and Commerce Minister Melanio Paredes guaranteed the sale of fuel and has received the support of fuel distributors Shell, Texaco and Esso. Paredes’ comments came after Anadegas, the independent gas station owners association, threatened to shut down most of the country’s gasoline stations if the government did not provide a positive response to …

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