2009 – Page 44

A new bill in Congress exposes a little-known fact. Government officials enjoy credit cards paid by taxpayer money. A new bill drafted by the new Ministry of Public Administration (SEAP) has been sent to Congress by the Executive Branch. It seeks to ban the issue of credit cards to government officials. The bill establishes that …

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Clave newspaper reports that the yet-to-be-hired judges for the Constitutional Court, authorized in the new Constitution would be paid RD$700,000 a month in salary. Thirteen jurists will be chosen. The court would be in charge of reviewing cases of violation to the new Constitution. Clave reports there is a line up for the positions.

The United Nations team of experts is promising to deliver their conclusion on the viability of installing a cement plant in the buffer zone of the Los Haitises National Park by “late November”. The publication of the UN report had originally been promised for late September, but the team says that the wealth of information …

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Ayacx Mercedes, a social policy specialist for Unicef, has called on local authorities to increase their efforts to combat the trafficking of Haitian children. He said that people smugglers recruit children aged 4 to 12 years in Dajabon and bring them to the DR to be used in domestic service, child prostitution and begging. Mercedes …

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It is now up to Dr. Senen Caba to continue the fight for better working conditions for public hospital doctors. According to the preliminary count, Caba, a cardiologist, beat Dr. Enriquillo Matos for the post of Dominican Medical Association (CMD) president. A moderate, Matos has already served as CMD present president once. Of 12,000 registered …

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Eminent pediatrician 79-year old Hugo Mendoza has passed away. He was best known for his dedication, high medical standards and commitment to research. He was professor of several generations of Dominican pediatricians while serving as the director of the Robert Reid Cabral Children’s Hospital.

Dominican basketball players Al Horford and Charlie Villanueva are playing up to the potential they’ve always had. It’s still early in the NBA season, but Villanueva is fitting in nicely with his new team, the Detroit Pistons. Last night, Villanueva dropped 30 points on the Charlotte Bobcats and outscored the Bobcats by himself in the …

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There were no changes in the standings yesterday but the Azucareros have seemed to hit a bit of a wall. They had many chances to win, but shoddy play led to their 2-1 loss against the Tigres. The Escogido easily took care of the Aguilas by a score of 7-2, while the Estrellas game against …

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President Leonel Fernandez is traveling to France on 2 December on an official two-day visit. French Minister for Cooperation and Francophonie Alain Joyandet will be in the DR on Thursday, 12 and Friday, 13 November to coordinate the agenda for the visit. While in Santo Domingo, Joyandet will sign a treaty agreeing to the transfer …

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Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa says that with the signing of the Stand-by Arrangement with the IMF, the DR will be receiving US$450 million as part of the agreement and not the US$1.7 billion, as has been widely reported. Bengoa said the DR would get US$300 million this year and US$150 million next year. He added …

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