About 40 000 census takers will work across the country
BREAKING NEWS: For the second time, the National Statistical Office (ONE) will try and start the field work for the IX National Census of Population and Housing. As a result, starting today and until the 7th of this month, some 65,000 members of the census team will go house to house all over the country, collecting data.
Census takers and supervisors that were interviewed said that this time the census will take off, after serious problems of logistics and delay in payments were overcome. In part, the effort was assisted by the Presidential Decree which gave them a postponement from the original 24-20 November dates.
It was just three days ago that the census materials reached the Labor School of INVI in Los Mina which is the coordinator for all of South Los Mina.
As pointed out by Narcisa Martinez, the municipal census manager for ONE, at the time of the former dates, they would not have been able to begin due to a lack of these materials, but now she says that from today on everything is ready to carry out the census taking starting at 8:00 this morning.
According to information from the ONE director, Pablo Tactuk, the census will cost the state about RD $1.0 billion.
In these dry runs, the personnel coordinated with several homes to visit at specific times so they could fill out the census forms that will be applied to Dominicans and foreigners.
In a communiqué, the ONE reported that the person in the house that offers the information to the census takers should be, preferably, the head of the household, or in his/her absence a person older than 15 years of age who can give information on all the members of the household
.
The agency points out that it would be convenient that the person who reports have a list with the birthdates of the residents of the house, the places they were born and where they had lived for five years previously.
Remember that the questionnaire has 60 questions that take about 30 minutes to answer and fill out the forms.
The main questions of the form are related to information about the population, age, area and geographic location, the demographic, economic, social and characteristics of the house, including the appliances and services it has.
Moreover, the census has questions relating to mortality, physical incapacities, farm producers, education, exposure to risks, and environmental characteristics.
The last Population and Housing Census carried out in the country dates from 2002. At this time they counted 8,562,541. This was preceded by the 1993 Census which found 7,293,390 persons.Population census should be done every 10 years.
Dominican Republic Live, 01.12.10
Dominican government wants to transform Jarabacoa in an important ecotourism destination
The tourist areas are treasures for Dominican Republic
The tourist areas are treasures for Dominican RepublicBREAKING NEWS: The Minister of Tourism Francisco Javier Garcia announced that from January 2011, its institution will begin the works requested by the community of Jarabacoa, in order to transform this town in a leading ecotourism destination in the Dominican Republic.
In a meeting organized by MITUR that was attended by local authorities, representatives of the tourism sector and civil society, the official said that on December 2010, technicians of the ministry will begin a survey to quantify and prioritize the needs of the destination.
We want to start working on the planning part, and we have brought the team of experts from the Ministry of Tourism
he said.
Mr. García informed that a local and international advertising campaign will be developed to promote Jarabacoa, as it was done for Puerto Plata, Samaná and Barahona, through the Tourist Promotion Offices of all European countries, USA and Canada.
The tourist areas should be seen as treasures for the Dominican Republic, since the country’s investments in tourism are small if compared to the millions dollars tourism brings to the Dominican economy
, Garcia said.
Francisco Javier García also promised to publish a book with all the tourist attractions of the region, and to develop a promotional campaign on radio and television netwoks.
The tourism minister proposed to create a monitoring committee for the development of Jarabacoa.
Jarabacoa has a cool and pleasant climate, as well as great mountains and waterfalls, which make it a perfect destination for ecotourism and sports tourism.
The meeting was attended by the Mayor of Jarabacoa, Mercy Quezada, the governor of the province Vega, Guillermo Torres, the deputy minister of the north, Cesar Jose de los Santos, and the director of cluster Jarabacoa, Tiburcio Nazareth, among others.
Dominican Republic Live, 02.12.10
Politur director stresses importance of security for tourism development
He visited Miches, in the east of Dominican Republic
BREAKING NEWS: The director of the Tourism Police (Politur), Pedro Antonio Cáceres Chestaro, visited the tourist area of Miches, in order to verify the safety levels in the area where the project Tropicalia, from the Cisneros Group, will be installed.
Major General Chestaro Cáceres said: As you know, safety is very important for the development of tourism, and the Dominican Republic and especially Miches, as tourist destination, must count on security measures to ensure safeness of tourists
.
Today security is essential to provide quality in tourism, and the success or failure of a tourism destination depends on its ability to provide visitors with a safe environment.
Without a doubt, a tourist area not only depends on its natural and exotic beauty, security also plays a leading in the growth and development of a tourist destination.
Dominican Republic Live, 03.12.10
The Christmas season boosts the Dominican economy
The high tourist season also began
BREAKING NEWS: The president of the National Organization of Commercial Enterprises (ONEC), Pedro Pérez said that during the months of November and December of each year, the country registers a considerable increase in sales, which rises with the payment to employees of 13th salary.
Besides this significant increase of money, which represents eight billion pesos only for the State, major private companies also pay bonuses to their employees, involving another significant increase of money in circulation.
The high tourist season also began and that means enterprises are employing more staff.
The arrival of thousands of Dominicans who live abroad and return the country to spend Christmas and New Year with their families, also provides a significant increase in sales.
Dominican Republic Live, 06.12.10
Leonel Fernández meets with business leaders in Miami
In order to install software production centers in the Dominican Republic
BREAKING NEWS: The president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, held a meeting with a group of businessmen from the technology industry sector of Miami, and they talked about the possibility of installing software production centers in the Dominican Republic.
Fernández explained the facilities offered by the country to foreign investment, and announced that his government was making efforts to upgrade industrial parks by adopting technological components in order to overcome the traditional production schemes.
During the meeting, the Dominican president received explanations about the production standards of the technology companies established in the State of Florida, especially Miami.
Between January and February 2011, 60 representatives of Miami technology companies will travel to Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, in order to explore investment opportunities.
The businessmen will also visit the Center for Export and Investment of the Dominican Republic and the facilities of the Cybernetic Park located in Boca Chica.
President Fernández was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Morales Troncoso, Melanio Paredes, Minister of Education, and by Administrative Minister, Luis Manuel Bonetti.
Garry Margulis, vice president of Research and Computer Tranfers, NSU, Jaime Borras, Teccnology Chief Officer, Motorola, Federico Bianchi, Newlink Group, Marx B. Rosenberg, of the Florida International University, were present at the meeting.
Dominican Republic Live, 07.12.10
Dominican Republic and Haiti will join forces against cholera
Mixed Dominico-Haitian Commission will meet on December 14th
BREAKING NEWS: In search of improving the bilateral measures and facing cholera with greater effectiveness, President Leonel Fernández and his counterpart from Haiti, Rene Preval, will meet here next week, possibly on Tuesday, in a place that has not been determined as yet.
To make this happen, Fernández met yesterday in his office in the Presidential Palace with the Haitian Prime Minister, Jean Max Bellerive. The ministers of Public Health from both countries, Bautista Rojas Gomez and Alex Larsen also took part in the meeting. At the end, they offered a press conference.
During the encounter, Bellerive said that the meeting would be a conference of the Mixed Dominico-Haitian Commission, and it would be headed by both presidents who would join forces to fight the disease.
He indicated that he was sent by Preval to the Dominican Republic in order to deal with this and other issues, and that he would report to his boss what was agreed to with Fernández, above all what was related to the date when the bilateral meeting would take place.
The Haitian premier, accompanied by Rojas Gomez and other officials, said that looking at the efforts that the Dominican authorities have made to control the incidence of cholera in the country, they (the Haitians) want to join in these preventive actions.
Bellerive assured the reporters that the ministers of Public Health from the Dominican Republic and his country would work together to see who they can integrate efforts and protect the Dominicans and Haitians from this terrible disease.
What we want the most, is to protect our neighbors, not only from the Dominican Republic. This disease has impacted Haiti, now, we do not want to re-export it to others
, he said.
To hear Bellerive tell it, as of now, his country’s government has taken all the measures possible to reduce the possibility of the disease going towards other regions of the world. And they are doing the same thing inside Haiti.
Initially, and so he informed the President this morning, they had planned that Preval would visit Fernández, and not Bellerive, who explained that there were reasons of state that kept the Haitian President from coming to visit.
Dominican Republic Live, 08.12.10
Gross Domestic Product will grow 7% in 2010 according to Central Bank
Tourism sector should register a 4% growth this year
BREAKING NEWS: In spite of the fact that this has been a very difficult and complicated year, with a lot of talk about the foreign debt and living in the post-crisis period, the growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will close the year in the worst of cases, around 7%.
This was how the governor of the Central Bank, Hector Valdez Albizu, put it as he mentioned that in October the GDP closed, according to the Monthly Index of Economic Activity, with a growth rate of 7.5%, which means that for December the GDP will close at between 7% and 7.4%.
This is to say that we are closing a good year, and the most important sign has been that we achieved in a very short period what we economists call the potential capacity of the economy in terms of recovery
, he said.
He referred to the fact that between January and September, the GDP in real terms grew by 7.6%, surpassing the expectations and projection of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has been revised three times this year.
Valdez Albizu said that the economic growth has been achieved with a strong push from the credit in the private sector which he said is growing 18% above what the authorities had estimated.
Nonetheless, he added during the Christmas get-together with the reporters, that at times this is not good because it could cause unnecessary pressures on prices
. In his judgment, what is praiseworthy is that the growth of private credit is happening in proportion to the nominal growth of the economy. And if this growth were to be between 12, 13 and now 18%, it is very high.
Valdez Albizu said that inflation will close the year at about 6%. He offered the information after receiving the information that the Price Index for November was 0.31%, which gave an accumulated inflation rate of 5.7%.
He added that if you were to take into account the effect of the 11% increase in the electricity rates, which in the family basket has an effect of 0.35%, plus the normal increase in the other products, the year will end at 6%, which is the lower limit that had been negotiated with the IMF.
He said that tourism continues to show positive numbers, and he cited the fact that from January to November it had grown by 3.6%. In 2009, during a similar period, it had gone down by .57%. In all of this, is should be stressed the visits by non-residents, that gives 4.29% growth between January and November, which will allow the sector to show a 4% growth for the year.
He added that this growth will occur in spite of what is happening, such as the cholera outbreak, the situation in Haiti, and above all the international economic crisis.
Dominican Republic Live, 08.12.10
The Tourism Ministry will recover 220 beaches of the country
At a cost of RD $95 million
BREAKING NEWS: The Tourism Ministry will spend RD $95 million in a program to recover and landscaping of more than 220 beaches of public nationwide, and will conduct an awareness campaign to protect that natural resource.
The National Beach Management and Landscaping Plan, whose first stage began in September, includes 18 of the country’s most visited beaches.
This project looks to raise the category of all the beaches around the country through the adequate management which constitutes the nation’s main tourism asset
, said Tourism minister Francisco Javier Garcia.
He said the program will be developed in four phases and will last around 18 months.
Dominican Republic Live, 08.12.10
The Dominican tourism continues to grow worldwide
The country is establishing diplomatic relations with new countries
BREAKING NEWS: During the past three years, the country exceeded four million visitors and registered an annual average of 4.3 million tourists, as a result of the efforts of President Leonel Fernández to attract tourists to the Dominican Republic and expand relations with other countries.
Despite the drastic drop in global tourism, the Ministry of Tourism was able to achieve significant gains in the last three years and invested more than $ 100 million in international promotion, which contributed to attract tourists from countries like Russia, South America and the European Union, who formerly preferred other destinations.
The opening of new hotel rooms also contributed to the creation of thousands of direct and indirect new jobs and helped the opening of new offices in Stockholm, Sweden, Vienna in Austria, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia as well as in Prague, Czech Republic.
The Foreign Ministry now delivers electronic visa in 35 cities worldwide and established new diplomatic relations with 23 new countries.
In the last three years (2007-2009), Ministry of Foreign Affairs installed consulates in in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin in Germany, Antwerp in Belgium, Bogota and Cali, Colombia; Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, España.Además, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, U.S., Paris and Marseilles, France, Puerto Principe, Juana Mendez, and Anse Beladero Pitre, Haiti, Genoa, Milan and Rome, Italy, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Bern, Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland, Panama City, Panama, La Habana, Cuba, Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, South Korea, Taipei, Taiwan, and in Hong Kong, China.
Among the nations with which the Dominican Republic has established recent diplomatic relations are the republics of Sudan, Algeria, Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Great Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Guinea, Eritrea, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Syria, Nauru, Nepal, DPR Korea, Uzbekistan, Democratic People’s Republic of Laos, Fiji Islands, Azerbaijan, East Timor Democratic, Armenia, Luxembourg, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Namibia and Botswana, the Republic of Seychelles, the Kingdom of Jordan, , Cambodia, the Commonwealth of Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Iceland, Lithuania, Seychelles, the Kingdom of Jordan, UAE, Cambodia, Antigua and Barbuda.
Dominican Republic Live, 14.12.10
Natural gas is more and more used in Dominican Republic
Hotels and industry have succeeded in reducing their operational costs by over 40%
BREAKING NEWS: Since 2003, when AES put its commercial natural gas terminal into operation, some 50 industries, mining, electricity, transport and hotel chains have succeeded in reducing their operational costs by over 40%.
Meanwhile, it is predicted that the State will save some US $800 million over three years as users of regular fossil fuels convert to natural gas.
The natural gas distribution companies also plan to install a total of 50 stations, although at present there are only four supply points for public and private vehicle owners. It is also projected that in two years time some 1,000 vehicles will run on natural gas.
As well as the environmental benefits, natural gas provides economic benefits to users, because its more efficient combustion keeps the vehicle engine clean and it is 60% cheaper than gasoline, 50% cheaper than diesel and 30% cheaper than LPG. A change in the electricity matrix is planned for the country.
300 MW (megawatts) of combined cycle and 236 MW with open cycle turbines are in place. Seaboard will install 100 additional MW that will use natural gas, and a new generator will be built in Los Mina that will contribute 34 MW of natural gas to the National Interconnected Electrical System (SENI), with an investment of US $15 million. It is planned that by 2012, 22% of the country’s energy usage will be natural gas-based and 64% petroleum-based.
The 50 industries include Grupo Inca, Rica, Metaldom, Mercasid and others that have already reported up to 40 per cent reductions in their production costs since converting to natural gas.
Metaldom announced the change in the energy production system that it uses in its laminating furnace from fuel oil to natural gas, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. The process will allow for a reduction of almost 30% less CO2 emissions, with an investment of US $2 million.
In the country, the company that imports natural gas is AES Dominicana and there are four distributors: Linea Clave, Soluciones en Gas Natural (SGN), Tropigas and Propagas, the last two supply gas to industries and the first two supply gas to vehicles. Natural gas remains the best option, according to the experts.
A cubic meter of natural gas will be sold for the official price of RD $18.04 but it is currently priced at RD $20.04. A cubic meter is equivalent to 2.36 gallons of GLP. If natural gas is compared with gasoline it multiplies by 3.38 gallons, because gasoline performs much better than LPG, in terms of energy. In the case of diesel, 3.45 gallons of this fuel would be equivalent to a cubic meter of natural gas, which makes it a good alternative for vehicle users.
Dominican Republic Live, 16.12.10
Start of the operation Christmas without accidents
in Dominican Republic
An initiative of Metropolitan Transit Authority, the National Police and the Emergency Operations Committee
BREAKING NEWS: The Metropolitan Transit Authority (Amet), the National Police and the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) yesterday announced the start of the operation Christmas without accidents
in streets and highways around the country, to prevent traffic accidents during the holidays.
They said radars will be used to control speeds on the highways and breathalyzers on those suspected of drinking while driving. The authorities will also try to keep heavy vehicles from using the left lanes, a practice prove to raises the possibility of accidents.
Amet will also people from riding on truck beds or in the back part of pickup trucks, while motorcyclist will not be able to ride more than one passenger; will have to use a helmet, have current documents and all lights on the bikes must be working.
Amet director Jose Aníbal Sanz urged motorists to drive wisely, to prevent the accidents which always bring mourning and pain to Dominican families
.
Dominican Republic Live, 17.12.10
Leonel Fernández says 2011 will see economic growth
The president handed out Christmas boxes
BREAKING NEWS: President Leonel Fernandez said yesterday that in 2011 the Dominican economy would continue its growth in spite of the global economic crisis. Regarding this, the President said that in 2010 the behavior of the economy was positive and showed growth.
The Chief of State was questioned by reporters after handing out Christmas boxes in the barrio of Pueblo Nuevo in San Francisco de Macoris.
Earlier, the President had distributed Christmas boxes to poor families in different sections of Mao, Valverde province, specifically the barrios of San Antonio and Cayuco.
Later on Fernández travelled to Santiago by helicopter, and there he delivered boxes in Cristo Rey, where he arrived at noon. In the barrio he greeted several of the persons that were lined up waiting for their boxes.
The President was accompanied by the provincial governor, Raul Martinez, and the director of ProIndustria, Jose Izquierdo, and other local officials.
Then President Fernández went to the popular barrio of La Joya, where he continued handing out boxes, which contained rice, beans, eggnog, wine, pigeon peas, corn meal, tomato paste, milk powder, spaghetti, sugar, cooking oil and Christmas candies.
The Chief of State finished the operation in the Savica barrio where hundreds of residents had waited for his arrival since the early hours of the morning.
Afterwards, he headed for La Vega in his vehicle where he continued the delivery of boxes in the of Palmaritoi where he was greeted with reelection slogans shouted by the hundreds of PLD party faithful decked out in purple baseball caps that promoted the President.
Later he went by vehicle to San Francisco de Macoris, where he continued to deliver boxes in the barrios of Pueblo Nuevo, Vista del Valle and others.
Dominican Republic Live, 21.12.10
The Dominican economy will grow around 7.8% in 2010
More than the 6% average calculated by the Economic Commission for Latin America
BREAKING NEWS: The Dominican economy will grow around 7.8%, or higher than expected this year, with single digit inflation and more than 181,800 new jobs, the Central Bank said in a preliminary report released Tuesday.
It said the country’s economic growth places it among the seven nations the Economic Commission for Latin America (Cepal) projects would grow above 6.0% average for Latin America this year.
In a statement published in the media and its website Wednesday, the Central Bank said it expects all economic activities that conform the GDP will post positive figures, motoring a growth that has lowered the country’s extended unemployment rate 0.3 percentage points to 14.1%, or similar to the figures posted before the 2008-2009 global crisis.
This means that 160,208 new net jobs have been created in the country this year, raising to 5107,603 the new jobs which the economic growth has created from 2004 to date. This necessarily has contributed to reducing the poverty levels and improve the distribution of income and the standard of living for an important segment of the population
, the Central Bank said.
Dominican Republic Live, 22.12.10
Foreign investment surpassed two billion dollars in 2010
According to the Dominican Association of the Foreign Investment Companies
BREAKING NEWS: Dominican Republic’s biggest association of foreign investment companies (ASIEX) announced Tuesday that during 2010 the injection of capitals by foreign-based companies again surpassed two billion dollars.
Asiex president Marco de La Rosa has stated that our presence in the country and the annual growth of the flow of foreign investment which contributes to Dominican Republic’s growth and development results from the propitious climate for the materialization of our business activities, which prevails in the entire nation
.
We have also counted with the application of an adequate legal framework and with a respectful atmosphere of the ethics which govern our relations with the different actors of the country. And of course in this scope it’s always important that the country continues orienting its efforts to guarantee the institutionalism in all the areas related to the promotion, regulation and support of private investment
, the Asiex representative said.
De la Rosa revealed that ASIEX estimates more than 10.0 billion dollars in additional new investments in the next five years, contributing to preserve the national economy’s macroeconomic stability and significant growth, at a rate much higher than the average of the region’s countries. These investments will go toward strategic sectors such as telecommunications, tourism, construction, energy, mining and finances
.
We take this opportunity to congratulate the country for a successful 2010 in terms of development of foreign investment and we wish you happy holidays and a prosperous 2011, which we have no doubt that it will be of great accomplishments as evidenced by the achievements on economic stability and growth, which despite the external crises, distinguish the Dominican Republic
, the Asiex president added.
Dominican Republic Live, 23.12.10
Dominican Republic’s first wind energy park will be ready for 2011
The Project has a cost of US $100 million
BREAKING NEWS: Dominican Republic’s first ever wind energy park is much closer to start operating as the components of the generating towers are already at the port Cabo Rojo
, in southwestern Pedernales province, from where they’ll then head to the nearby town Juancho for assembly.
The US $100 million, 19 turbine wind energy project is expected to start generating around 33.5 megawatts by mid 2011, whose output can supply around 33,000 Dominican homes.
The power companies EGE Haina and Punta Cana-Macao invest in the Wind Energy Park Los Cocos and the nearby Quilvio Cabrera Park, being built simultaneously.The Spanish company Cobra Energía manufactures the 19 wind generators.
Dominican Republic Live, 27.12.10
3 al rescate
the first animated production in 3D in Dominican Republic
The gala premier will be on January 4th, 2011
BREAKING NEWS: Antena Latina Films announced the gala premier and arrival in theaters of the film 3 Al Rescate
(3 to the rescue), the first animated production in 3D made in the Dominican Republic.
Antena Latina Films director Alfonso Rodriguez said the first of two debuts will be in Santo Domingo on January 4th in the Diamond Mall cinema and a showing the following day in the Cinema Centro Cibao on the 5th, for special guests.
It will be followed with showings in all theaters in the Dominican Republic staring January 6.
Rodriguez said 3 Al Rescate
the film was made in the Raycast studios, with leading edge digital animation technology
The voices are the recognized performers Kenny Grullón, Roger Zayas, Cuquín Victory, Luis Jose German, Jose Guillermo Cortines, Frank Perozo, Irvin Alberti, Carolina Rivas, Panky Saviñón, Antonio Melenciano, Giovanna Bonnelly, Tony Rojas and Dominique Bonnelly.
Dominican Republic Live, 28.12.10
Flights resume between Dominican Republic and United States East Coast
Bad weather caused perturbations during two days
BREAKING NEWS: The airline resumed Tuesday the flights they had cancelled from Dominican Republic to New York as the crippling blizzard loosened its grip over northeastern United States.
Dominican airports management company (Aerodom) spokeswomanYolanda Mañán said five flights to New York and Philadelphia had left yesterday afternoon, of the more than 20 suspended between Sunday and Monday. An American Airlines flight is also expected to leaves and that two more will arrive
.
She said the information only includes reprogrammed operations in the Las Americas and Puerto Plata international airports, both run by Aerodom.
Mañán said that at 12:50 p.m. a U.S. Airways flight left from Santo Domingo to Philadelphia and a Delta Airlines airplane to New York took off at 2:18. Several flights of the carrier Jet Blue also took off and landed.
Dominican Republic Live, 29.12.10
9.4 millions of passengers on flights in Dominican Republic in 2010
An increase of 4.6% if compared to 2009
BREAKING NEWS: The around 9.4 million passengers on commercial flights which used Dominican Republic’s eight international airports this year led to a 4.6% growth of that sector, compared with 2009.
Civil Aviation Board (JAC) president Luis Rodriguez Ariza, who provided the figure, also noted that it’s the first time that more than 9 million passengers fly to and from the Dominican Republic.
This increase reached in 2010 results from the application of an Open Sky policy, among other factors, which have allowed us to reach new world markets, in this manner contributing to bolster the national tourism industry
, the official said, adding that air transport agreements have been reached with Spain, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Dominican Republic Live, 30.12.10
Happy New Year 2011 !
Dominican Republic Live appreciates the support of its readers
Today is a special day. Today marks the end the year 2010, a year of joy, achievements and disappointments for all of us. Today we are ready to start the year 2011 with our resolutions and our projects.
The Live websites team appreciates the support we receive everyday from our readers.
Thank you for your messages that help us to reach our goal : be the best network of information on the country in three languages, focusing on issues of development and tourism.
We will always listen your advices, ideas and comments, since the Live sites were created for you, our visitors.
We wish that this year 2011 will be filled with satisfaction and happiness. That you will have thousands of opportunities to share special moments with the ones you love.
Happy 2011 !
Dominican Republic Live, 31.12.10
