2009 – Page 15

Although the holiday season in the DR starts in late November, the “official” start to the holiday season is the day the government disburses holiday bonuses. Today an estimated RD$6 billion will begin to circulate in Christmas wages paid by public institutions. This doesn’t include the regular salaries that employees receive on the 15th, 25th …

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World Bank DR country representative Roberto Adrian Senderowitsch admits that the DR’s greatest tragedy is that despite sustained high levels of growth it has not been able to reduce levels of social inequity. Senderowitsch told Hoy that the country had maintained annual growth rates of 8% and 9% but was not able to significantly lower …

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The Dominican Republic has joined French initiatives in the fight against drugs and will designate a permanent liaison to their Fight Against Drugs Program, based in Martinique. This is another step forward in joint efforts between both countries to fight the drug trade in the Caribbean. The agreement was made during President Leonel Fernandez’s recent …

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The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has donated US$700,000 in funds to the DR that will be used to fund teaching programs and evaluating basic levels of education in the DR. The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Higher Education. Listin Diario reports that US$250,000 will be given to the Ministry of Education and …

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Economy, Planning and Development Minister Temistocles Montas has once again come out in defense of the debt being taken on by the government, justifying it in the context of the international financial crisis. He added that the private business sector has seen a paralysis on a global level and government needed to take steps to …

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The PRD opposition political party says that with the RD$379 billion of the 2010 budget included, the PLD government will have received RD$1.7 trillion in revenues from 2004-2010 but has not resolved any of the problems that affect Dominicans. The PRD says that: “Hundreds of jobs have been destroyed, thousands of companies have gone bankrupt, …

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Writing in today’s Listin Diario, economic advisor to the Central Bank Olga Diaz Mora explains how come Central Bank figures show growth when Tax Department (DGII) indicators have declined. She was challenging recent comments by Andres Dauhajre, former economic adviser to the Hipolito Mejia government. She says that there are no contradictions between CB and …

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Vice president of the State-owned Electric Companies (CDEEE) is once again expressing his support for the privatization of the nation’s energy distributors, arguing that this is the best option for the sector to recover. He added that the role of private investment in the generation sector must be increased to reduce the perception that investing …

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The Dominican Port Authority (Apordom) announced yesterday that it was lifting the embargo against power generation and shipping companies on condition that they pay for leasing space in port areas in the future. El Caribe quotes Apordom Public relations director Alicia Custals, as saying that the embargo would be lifted. The embargo affected Ege Haina …

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The Caribbean Nations Security Conference, coordinated by the US Southern Command, is meeting with senior Caribbean security officials at the Hotel Santo Domingo. The annual conference focuses on improving security cooperation in the region, with discussions on drugs, human and weapons trafficking in the Caribbean. According to the US Southern Command, 90% of the cocaine …

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