2012 – Page 59

The government has invested US$4 million in new software that promises to make the public payroll more transparent and control spending in government departments. Manuel Labrado, the Inter-American Development Bank representative in the DR presented the program to the press yesterday, Thursday 18 October, together with Minister of Public Administration Ramon Ventura. Ventura Camejo says …

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The Dominican Postal Service (Inposdom) and the National Botanical Gardens have issued a stamp featuring lovely Dominican orchids. The stamps will be sold for RD$15 each. “It is our duty to ensure the conservation of this flower, as well as of other plants,” said post office director Modesto Guzman. Meanwhile Ricardo Garcia, director of the …

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The Medina administration has rejected a bid to cut RD$59.4 billion in what has been described as wasteful spending by the Economic and Social Council, the governmental consulting body. As reported, the government economic team says that reducing this spending would affect macroeconomics and social stability, as reported in El Caribe. The CES deemed that …

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The Senate Budget Commission chairman, Dionis Sanchez, has defended the government’s proposal for increased taxation on the grounds that developed societies have tax burdens of 24-38%. He said that the taxation burden in the DR is only 13%. He defended it by saying that the government needs the funds for public works. But Cripusculo Perez, …

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The Superintendence of Pensions has announced the cancellation of 49 pensions granted in August, prior to the end of the Fernandez government, as reported in El Caribe. The allocations included RD$651,592 a month for former Superintendent Haivanjoe de Jesus Ng Cortinas, RD$437,369 for Daris Javier Cuevas Nin, RD$317,364 for Atahualpa Pedro Dominguez, RD$270,505 for Jose …

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The American Chamber of Commerce in the DR is warning that the taxation bill incorporates several rule changes that could affect the incoming flow of foreign investment. The business organization says this is an opportunity to “break with the past and revise public spending to focus it on quality and efficiency in favor of economic …

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Writing in today’s edition of El Dia newspaper, Friday 19 October, lawyer Carlos Salcedo gives the new name of “Backward Towers” to the “Progress Towers” built by the Fernandez administration and allocated to selected individuals below market prices. In his comment on the enormous fiscal deficit the Medina administration has inherited, he says that when …

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Former President Hipolito Mejia and the economic commission of the opposition PRD are recommending that the government cut spending by RD$79.4 billion for next year, which is RD$20 billion more than proposed by the Economic and Social Commission. The economists say that if the government applies austerity measures there is no need to introduce new …

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Sambil Santo Domingo, set to be the largest shopping mall in the Dominican Republic, will be opening 30 November. The owners of the mall announced the one-month postponement to give more time to store owners who are decorating their shops. Sambil is a Venezuelan investment of US$120-US$150 million and will have 195,000 square meters of …

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The Centro Leon has announced the winners of the 24th prestigious Eduardo Leon Jimenes Art Contest. Winners of three equal awards are: Hulda Guzman (1984) for Fiesta en el Batey, for the way she captures the traditional landscape, portraits and references to the history of art, in a Dominican context. Carlos de Leon (1988) for …

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