While a number of Cubans are held up in the Panamanian border, African immigrants have crossed our borders illegally and have been detained. These new
Immigrants have come from the Congo, Senegal and Guinea making their way to the Ivory Coast crossing the Atlantic to Brazil then through Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama. Other groups make their way from Spain and Portugal to Brazil and Colombia.
Over 12,000 elderly people are in need of shelter, food and clothing.
The Ministry of the Environment and Energy looks for a way to get rid of extremely old cars from all road as they are not only emitting a large amount of fumes but are also dangerous to the public.
Tourism in the Canals of Tortuguero (North East Caribbean Coastal Areas) has suffered heavily as January and February’s rainfall has diminished as much as 75%. Japdeva (In charge of Port and Economic development on the Atlantic Coast), have admitted that there is no record of the upkeep of the Canals for the last 8 years and put at fault The National Banana Corporation with whom they had signed a contract.
1,500 hectares of wetlands are consumed by fire in the North of the country as the result of the drought.
Housing projects increased by 12% last year and signs point to a further increase this year.
The President warns of strict measures to be put in place if no agreement is reached on new taxes and evasion laws. The opposition insists in further necessary cuts in government spending and outrageous pension schemes and salaries.
As 3 light plane accidents in less than 10 days which are directly linked to drug trafficking and the discovery of over 30 unregistered landing strips on open spaces, talks towards investing in high tech radars are being discussed.
The Agricultural Chamber indicates a slight increase in production in the first trimestre of the year.
The Board of Directors of the National Healthcare System hints at investing US$320 million in public works. 96% of its reserves are today invested in Treasury and Central Bank Bonds.
The International Monetary Fund projects a 4.2% National Growth for the rest of the year and 2.017.
Government plans to cut budgetary transfers which will primarily cut social programmes and slow down the acquisition of goods and services in 2,016 and this will be followed by salary freeze in 2,017 if there are no new measures taken to increase income.
The Institute of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency reports, that among the youngsters, alcohol use has dropped from 53.7% to 49.7% in the last 3 years. Active consumption fell from 20.2% to 19.5%. Tabaco use fell from 23.1% to 15.2% and active consumption from 6% to 2.4%. However the use of marihuana rose from 14.6% to 15.1% while active use fell from 5.9% to 4.9%.
The Ministry of Tourism signs agreements which is calculated to bring a further 5,177 tourist per week from Europe. These agreements were signed with British Airways, Iberia, Air France and Condor.
Taxi drivers cause traffic jams by getting together and progressing through roads at slow pace to protest against Uber.
Fiscal Control Police raid one of the country’s largest Sugar Mills and put them under investigation for tax evasion.
Fire Chief informs that there are 3 active fires in woodlands in 3 different Provinces. He further informs that this year there has been 57 fires which have wiped out 6,244 hectares.
Week ends with the Central Bank’s reference buying rate of CRC542.10 and selling rate of CRC529.62 to USD 1.00.