2021 – Page 88

In his talk to the nation last 18 August 2021, President Luis Abinader mentioned the need for a national dialogue on some 12 major issues. Foremost among these issues is a tax reform, as foretold by Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ignacio Paliza. There are also scores of issues with the social cecurity system. …

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The Abinader government created a trust agency to handle everything to do with the Punta Catalina Thermo-electric Power Plant (CTPC). The trust would have a 30 year duration. The controversial coal-fired generator has cost the state well over US$3 billion and reportedly has not yet been formally received by the Abinader government from the Odebrecht-Tecnimont-Estrella …

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President Luis Abinader told reporters that the “oversupply” of vaccines was necessary to guarantee the successful working of the vaccination program proposed by the government. He noted that some suppliers had failed to deliver on promised dates making it necessary to contract for even more vaccines. Just this week, nearly a million vaccines arrived at …

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Few people know the history of the Yaque River, and even fewer realize the effort that is being made to clean up the most important river, economically speaking, in the Dominican Republic. Years ago, when there were dense pine and mahogany forests in the Central Mountain Range, the trees were felled, and the trunks thrown …

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In the Dominican Republic, some 45% of all banking transactions are now digital. Today there is very little that a person can do at a bank that cannot be done online. Payrolls are paid online and workers have been assigned debit cards to access their deposits. Even the most conservative in the financial sector, the …

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A report in El Dia estimates between the RD$25,000 and RD$30,000 the cost of sending children back to school. The amount is greater in the case of private schools. Schools have been closed for in-person learning since March 2020. Now the government has authorized all schools to reopen for in-person learning as of 20 September …

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The picturesque row of typical fishermen’s houses that bordered the central area of Las Terrenas Beach has burned down for a second time. The original houses were destroyed by a fire in 2012 and rebuilt. On Saturday, 4 September 2021, a fire was reported at 6:30am that swept through the restaurants and bars. No persons …

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Jose Tomas Perez Gautreau, the son of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) politician and former Dominican ambassador to the United States, Jose Tomas Perez Perez, is on the Ministry of Foreign Relations payroll as an alternate at the South Africa Embassy. Somos Pueblo reports that he collects around RD$800,000 a month since the start of …

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The former director of the Dominican Agrarian Institute (IAD), Leonardo Faña, will no longer have to stand for trial. On Friday, 3 September 2021, judge Daniel Nolasco of the Third Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District said there was insufficient evidence against him to open the trial. A former financial officer …

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After months of drought, the northwestern provinces of Santiago Rodriguez and Valverde were hit with a possible tornado on Saturday, 4 September 2021. It was perhaps a micro-burst, yet it was sufficiently strong enough to tear off roofs, up-root trees and down power lines. And, it rained very heavily for more than an hour. The …

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