2010 – Page 239

President Leonel Fernandez has sworn in Pedro Julio Castellanos and Fernando Ferran as new members of the Ethics Commission. Castellanos replaces Ramon Tejada Holguin. The commission is chaired by lawyer Marino Vinicio Castillo. Castellanos is a former director of the government anti-corruption department. He resigned on the grounds that it had become ineffective. He is …

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More than half of the 183 seats in the Chamber of Deputies will be won in just five of 32 provinces in the congressional and municipal election of 16 May. Of the 178 deputies, 36 correspond to the Province of Santo Domingo, 18 to the National District (Santo Domingo city), 18 to Santiago, 11 to …

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There will be 1,865,179 more voters in the 2010 congressional and municipal elections compared to the total in 2000, as reported in Diario Libre. The voting list is now at 6,116,397, up from 4,251,218. Compared to the presidential election in 2008, there are 352,010 more voters. The total number of people who actually cast votes …

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The IMF is optimistic that 2010 will be a year of growth for the DR. In an interview with Listin Diario, the IMF chief of mission in the DR, Alejandro Santos predicted that the economy would maintain a growth rate of 3-4% in 2010. Recently Central Bank governor Hector Valdez forecast that the Dominican economy …

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Deputy Pelegrin Castillo (FNP-DN) says that while forecasts for growth are on the positive side, Dominicans need to demand more explanations on how this will translate into improvements in the quality of life of the population. He asked for more information on jobs, distribution of wealth and human development indexes. “I think the time has …

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Dominicans are consuming more petrol than any other nation in Central America and the Caribbean. Listin Diario reports that from January to March 2010, the country consumed 314,514,975 gallons, while Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama consumed on average 85.6 million barrels, or 3,400.27 gallons. The most widely purchased fuel is propane …

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The Association of Industries of Herrera (AIEH) has added its voice to those who are lobbying for simpler government requirements for small businesses. AEIH president Manuel Cabrera says that government red tape has complicated matters for small and medium-sized business, known here as “Pymes”. He said for small family businesses to become formal is “a …

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Taiwan is making financing available for the purchase of Taiwanese equipment through their Eximbank China, as reported in Listin Diario. The loans cover up to 85% of the cost of the equipment. Taiwanese ambassador Isaac Tsai announced the opening of the Expo Feria Ferretera Internacional 2010 with exhibitions of Taiwanese goods and participation by 40 …

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The president of the National Association of Hotels & Restaurants (Asonahores), Haydee Rainieri says that the decline in the profitability in the tourism industry demands a review of the strategy to ensure sustainable development. Rainieri was speaking at the opening of the Dominican Annual Travel Exchange (DATE 2010) at the Moon Palace in Punta Cana. …

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More flights to and from Europe are resuming operation, following the major cancellations that occurred with the closure of northern European airspace following last week’s volcanic eruption in Iceland. Airlines that were affected include Air France, Condor (Germany), Thomson Air, Thomas Cook Airlines (UK), and Jetairfly (Belgium). Air Europa and Iberia flights to Madrid, where …

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