2014 – Page 201

President Danilo Medina left early this morning, Thursday 8 May on a private plane for a short visit to Costa Rica to attend the inauguration of recently elected President Luis Guillermo Solis. Solis visited President Medina several weeks ago and invited him to the inauguration. Medina is expected back this evening. He left from San …

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President Danilo Medina is asking the Senate to approve two addendums to the contract for the construction of the Monte Grande dam and the repairs to the Sabana Yegua dam. In letters addressed to the president of the Senate, Reinaldo Pared Perez, the President proposes an extension of the delivery date for the two projects …

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Writing in today’s Diario Libre, Thursday 8 May, economist Alejandro Fernandez comments that 98% of all the increase in borrowing in the Dominican Republic was gulped down by the Dominican government. Central Bank statistics show that borrowing increased by RD$41.896 billion during the first quarter. Of that amount RD$40.087 billion was channeled to the public …

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Dominican businessman Celso Marranzini says that the fiscal burden that the Dominican government has imposed on its taxpayers is 33% and not the 14% official stat. The former president of the National Business Council (CONEP) and general manager of the Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE) says: “When one looks at all the productive sectors, we figure …

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The Center for Export and Investment (CEI-RD) reports that during the first quarter of the year Dominican exports outside of free zones were up 8.53% from January to March 2014. During the period, the DR exported just over US$2 billion, but gold and silver made up US$416.4 million of this total. Diario Libre reports that …

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Writing in Hoy newspaper today, Thursday 8 May, foreign affairs expert Fabio Herrera Minino comments that the Dominican Republic has always been the loser in the bilateral talks with Haiti. He says that the agreements approved in the first two meetings have not been fulfilled. He writes: These talks are a double-edged sword that is …

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The “People’s Defender” (a type of ombudsman or public defender) will be one year old next 15 May. In this first year of action, “the people have overflowed” in search of help in channeling their needs, with more than 2,000 cases attended, most of which have been solved, according to the head of the office, …

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The Global Democracy and Development Foundation, represented by its president Leonel Fernandez, has signed agreements with two Chicago educational institutions, DePaul University and the Illinois Institute of Technology. The agreement with IIT will allow teachers from Chicago to come to the Dominican Republic and carry out research. Students from the DR will have access to …

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A man who had left a note saying that he was going to commit suicide because he had lost over a million pesos in the Telexfree ponzi scheme has reappeared after going missing for two weeks. He had been staying in an aunt’s house near Santiago. Santos Nicolas Mejia had been reported missing by relatives. …

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The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Abel Martinez, warned the floor yesterday, Wednesday 7 May, that any bill for authorizing same-sex marriages would not pass. He said the proposed content of the bill for the organic law for the Prevention, Attention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women violates the Constitution. Because of this, …

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