2009 – Page 307

Reinforced bars for construction have dropped from RD$3,000 a quintal two months ago to RD$1,550, reflecting a major decline in demand. Listin Diario reports that nevertheless the bag of cement is holding to around RD$255, despite major declines in imported inputs. Cement producers say that the price of the fuel they use to run their …

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Nestle Dominicana has reduced the prices of powdered milk by between13% and 20%. A company press release says that the decision was taken on the basis of the country’s current macro-economic conditions. Last week, President Leonel Fernandez met with local producers and importers of products whose raw materials had gone down in price on the …

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The president and vice-president of the Dominican Free Zones Association (ADOZONA) is asking for an urgent modification of the Labor Code as a way of sending signals to investors that there is at least an intention to save jobs in this country. Fernando Capellan and Jose Manuel Torres revealed that several international businesses from the …

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Adalberto Rosa, director of Intabaco, the Dominican Tobacco Institute, says that the harvest this year will total more than 110,000 tareas, up 10% over last year. He said the increase is the result of sustained strong sales, despite the global financial crisis. (One tarea = 629 square meters).

The national director of Persecution of Administrative Corruption (DPCA), Octavio Lister, admitted that there are corrupt officials in the current public administration. Lister, who is also an assistant prosecutor, said that to say anything else would be to lie to the country. “Of course, yes, and this has been complained about on several occasions, and …

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After a meeting yesterday lasting less than half an hour, the PRD’s Political Commission set out the main conditions the government must meet in order for the party to take part in the National Unity Summit. Among them is a requirement to take the discussions of the constitutional reform to the summit itself, and to …

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In a speech last night, the president of the Colombian Constitutional Court Humberto Sierra Porto highlighted the achievements and advances made by Colombian society with the division of the Judicial Branch into a Supreme Court of Justice, a Council of State and a Constitutional Court. The topic is timely because President Leonel Fernandez has sent …

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An investigation carried out by the Ministry of Public Health into two deaths revealed that fake tetanus vaccines caused the problem. The vaccines were administered at some public hospitals. Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez said that there are several arrested as the investigation continues. Pharmacies were notify to remove the two medications – Cloferin …

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The police are on the trail of two individuals who robbed the administrative offices of the Santo Domingo Country Club, the exclusive golf and social club on the west side of the city at around 9pm on Sunday night. They are reported to have got away with RD$400,000 in cash. The club’s watchmen said they …

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The director of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC), Jose Tomas Perez, reported on Monday that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the Caribair airline and its president Rafael Rosado for irregularities in its flights. Perez said that on 3 January the airline made an emergency landing in North Carolina because it …

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