2019 – Page 216

Every year some 13,000,000 tons of plastics are dumped into the world’s oceans, according to a report by the UN Environment (UNEP). A large part of this amount is composed of plastic bags, just like the ones we see in supermarkets, the corner store, or any commercial entity. Now a Dominican company that has been …

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The Dominican non-financial public debt continues to rise, according to the General Directorate of Public Debt, the government office that keeps track of the public debt. The public debt, without including the financial debt of the Central Bank. is now at US$32.8 billion, or 39.1% of the Gross Domestic Product. Of this, 65.4% is foreign …

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The economists at the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC) do not see a rosy future for the pension fund administrators (AFPs) and their customers. In their opinion, these fund administrators that at present enjoy high profits risk bankruptcy because the bulk of the workers’ savings are invested in government bonds that are threatened by the …

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The economists at the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC) are warning that “the Dominican economy cannot resist a permanent deficit, based on a yearly increase of the public debt.” Rafael Espinal, the coordinator of the Economic Department, presented a report to an audience of professionals, students and journalists that noted that “interest on the debt …

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The Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) says the country lacks public policies that encourage innovation and suggested that the key for promoting a change in production of the nation’s industries is to get manufacturers to incorporate new technologies. Young Celso Juan Marranzini, the AIRD president, said that this would require new stances, …

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Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas announced the signing of an agreement with the law firm Foley Hoag LLP for counsel in maritime boundary cases to the National Maritime Boundary Delimitation Commission (Comisión Nacional de Delimitación de Fronteras Marítimas). The firm will assist the Dominican government in sea border limits negotiations with neighboring countries. The announcement comes …

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On Friday, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) confirmed that the parties holding primaries to be coordinated by the JCE would see deductions of 40% in their government-assigned funds. The JCE announced the ruling for the primaries is now available. The funds would be used for the organization of the primaries. So far only the ruling …

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Women Minister Janet Camilo, speaking as vice president and electoral director for the Dominican Revolutionary Party, a strong ally to the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), explained that after much deliberations the party echelons understood they could not afford the deduction of RD$120 million the Central Electoral Board (JCE) would make to their funds to …

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On Friday, 5 April 2019, the Constitutional Court struck down disposition No. 6 of Art. 44 in the recently passed Political Parties Law 33-18, which had criminalized negative comments regarding politicians in social media. The sentence is TC-01-2018-0043. Lawyers Namphi Rodríguez and Héctor Herrera Cabral had disputed the disposition in the Constitutional Court. The disposition …

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In one newspaper commentary on the selection, Diario Libre noted that judge Maria G. Garabito was the person who, in January 2018, had accused the Attorney General of the Republic Jean Alain Rodríguez of trying to blackmail the judges in San Cristobal. The accusation was included in a letter that she had sent to the …

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