2009 – Page 173

After eight consecutive weeks of fuel price increases, the Ministry of Industry & Commerce announced that it would give consumers a break. It announced a reduction of RD$6.90 in the price of premium gasoline (now costing RD$153.30 a gallon and RD$6.10 for regular gasoline (now selling for RD$143.70 a gallon). Propane gas was reduced by …

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The Superintendence of Energy (SIE) will decide either today or tomorrow whether or not Dominicans will have to suffer a second rate increase in two months. With the decline in government tax collections, the government is seeking new sources of revenue. The Superintendence of Energy now says the electricity rate will be indexed to cost …

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Small and medium-sized businesses are worst affected by long blackouts that are once again affecting the DR, despite a considerable rate increase. Small companies also bear the brunt of the high cost of having to run backup power generators. Coinciding with the blackouts and rate increase, TV investigative journalist Nuria Piera has just released another …

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According to the 2007 National Survey on Income and Spending (ENIGH 2007) 27.7% of people in employment, or 1,055,000 million people, are employed in the informal sector, defined as economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government department. Of these, 21.8% work in services, trade and marketing. The same survey reveals that …

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The Pedro Henriquez Urena University (UNPHU) and its school of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources are hosting what promises to be the most complete debate on the pros and cons of building a cement plant on the edge of the country’s leading water source, Los Haitises National Park. Invited to today’s event are defenders of …

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Former presidential candidate and former attorney general Guillermo Moreno says that now is the time for a new political opposition to emerge, to displace politicians who have bought most of the leaders of the country’s larger political parties and who are now their “masters”. As reported in El Caribe, Moreno said that the agreements signed …

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PRSC party president Federico Antun’s faction, which has allied with the ruling PLD party, voted on Sunday to hold a delegates’ assembly on 9 August to choose the new party authorities. The faction had been given clearance by the Central Electoral Board (JCE) to change the bylaws to apply the modality of a delegates’ assembly …

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Dominican archeologist Kathleen Martinez says that a quest to discover Cleopatra’s tomb has made the Dominican Republic famous throughout the Middle East. Martinez made these comments during a television interview with Orlando Jorge Mera on Color Vision. “I believe this is the first instance of bi-lateral cooperation between the DR and Egypt. In fact when …

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The Weather Department (ONAMET) is forecasting a heat wave for the DR, with few rains expected. Miguel Campusano of ONAMET warned that the hot weather would continue through September and said that in some areas temperatures are exceeding 40 degrees. Parks and beaches are packed with residents seeking respite from the hot summer temperatures. For …

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The DR women’s volleyball team is undefeated so far in the nine-day Pan American Cup, which includes three of the four 2008 Olympic Games semifinalists (Brazil, USA and Cuba), and serves as a qualifying event into the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix scheduled for Japan. The DR team has defeated Argentina (24-26, 25-13, 25-18, 27-25), …

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