2009 – Page 113

Minister of Education Melanio Paredes assured reporters that the quality issues regarding the school breakfast program are a thing of the past. He said that the suppliers now meet all requirements. He said that a commission will report to the public every 6 weeks regarding the lab analysis of the public school breakfast food. The …

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The DR government seeks International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial assistance to meets its current deficit. According to Hoy newspaper, a IMF mission is expected in Santo Domingo this week for talks that would lead to the signing of a stand by agreement. As reported, the short term assistance would bring US$1.5 billion to the Treasury. …

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The financing of the public debt is leaving its mark on the national budget. During the first half of the year, the impact of financing the debt had a negative effect on the budget due to the fact that the government spent more on debt payments and interest payments than it received in loan disbursements. …

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El Dia editorial comments that one of the most consistent and well-documented criticisms made to the Fernandez administration is regarding the burgeoning payroll. “Unfortunately the government is deaf to the calls that austerity begin with the elimination of unnecessary posts,” writes El Dia. “People do not forget the large number of deputy ministers that have …

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Economist Andres Dauhajre in El Caribe today reports on the contrasting numbers between bureaucracies in Chile, El Salvador and the DR. Presidency: Chile (870). El Salvador (763). DR (11,848 + 225 in the First Lady Office). Ministry of Public Works. Chile 7,251. El Salvador 948. DR 11,876. Ministry of Agriculture. Chile 5,197, El Salvador 1,189. …

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The congressional and municipal election set for May 2010 would be the best attended, in terms of participation, in the nation’s history. There is also a record number in electoral positions to be filled by politicians. In the 16 May election, 6,160,313 are registered to vote. In the 16 May 2010 election, 32 senators, 178 …

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Speaking at the Encounter for a Strategy for Haitian Recovery in Santo Domingo, Haiti’s Northeastern Department senator, Rudolph H. Boulos stressed the impact of Dominican remittances into Haiti. He estimated these are at US$500 million a year and have a considerable impact. Speaking in his own name, he said he is grateful for the jobs …

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Police has identified Chilean Williams Ignacio Diaz Santander (passport 17.167.064-0) as the man who irregularly entered the Melia hotel room of Tussaint Gilbert Oliver Charles Marie Urban, the manager of concert pianist Richard Clayderman and walked away with US$16,000 and 1,900 Euros, three credit cards and a pair of shoes, as reported in Hoy. The …

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A Ledine Continental bimotor plane that is suspect to have carried a drug shipment was found burned on a stretch of the Neiba-San Juan highway under construction. Locals reported that the plane was received by men on several vehicles. There is speculation the plane departed from a South American nation and flew over Haiti prior …

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Dominican authorities extradited two men on Friday afternoon to the US for trials, according to the National Drug Control Department. Jose Manuel Vasquez (Chelo) Vasquez faces charges on heroine trafficking and money laundering in Rhode Island. Octavio Delemos Roedan faces credit card fraud charges (cloning cards) in Florida. Vasquez had been held in the Extradition …

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