2013 – Page 136

The efforts to rid the country of “coffee rust” virus are showing some results. The virus has affected over 80% of the country’s coffee plantations. According to Dominican Coffee Council president Jose Fermin Nunez, the work being done in over 11,000 coffee farms so far has led to a 17% decrease in the appearance of …

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When the new school year begins on Monday, 19 August, 195,387 public school students will study under the Extended School Day regime, on which the government expects to spend RD$2.7 billion. A total of 161,687 additional students from the pre-school, primary and secondary levels will benefit from a greater educational workload, breakfasts, snacks and lunches …

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The Metro Office (OPRET) reports that the construction of the 12km extension of the present John F. Kennedy line to San Luis, on the eastern side of Santo Domingo will have 11 stations. The line will cost an estimated US$830 million. A tunnel needs to be dug under the Ozama River to link the existing …

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The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic reports that on 31 July 2013 its net international reserves closed at US$3.45 billion, or US$436 million more and up 14.44% compared to January of this year. The Central Bank points out that the reserves are at a level that the Dominican monetary authorities can guarantee stability in …

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The ruling PLD party, which holds the majority in Congress, has approved 39 legislative bills in the first year of the Medina administration. The National Budget sent by the Executive Branch, three loans, and contracts for several projects, internal and international bond issues and a tax reform also approved all together add up to RD$688.558 …

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Economists Miguel Ceara Hatton, Ernesto Selman and Luis Vargas have told Hoy that the Dominican economy needs to explore new export-focused productive activities, given the stagnation of the productive sectors that used to be the engine of the country’s economy. They said that measures such as increasing government spending and reducing bank reserve requirements are …

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The National Business Council (CONEP) says that the antidote to low salaries is increased job creation in the formal sector. CONEP president Manuel Diez Cabral said: “Salaries do not go up or down with the movement of a finger, but rather by the productivity of the companies, and we have to push the issue of …

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The Ramos Group, one of the Dominican Republic’s leading retailers, has a success story that began with eight employees and now has upwards of 10,000. There are also 36 stores in the country’s main provinces, of which 24 are superstores. But the real key to this success is “work, tenacity, persistence, and restlessness”, according to …

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Thousands of Dominicans and other Latinos lined Sixth Avenue (the Avenue of the Americas) in New York City yesterday, Sunday 11 August to celebrate the Dominican National Parade. Marchers and spectators waving national flags, playing typical merengue musical instruments and even holding plantains all celebrated the day together with people dressed in devil costumes and …

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An evangelical pastor has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after being found guilty of sexually abusing four boys in Villa Mella. The sentence was handed down by judges of the First Collegiate Tribunal of Santo Domingo against Simon Elias Ramirez Luciano, who was also ordered to pay RD$4 million in compensation and a …

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