Friday
Friday 13th September 2024.
September 12, 2024
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , announced this Thursday, September 12, that he will begin a unified purchasing system between the Social Security Fund (CSS) and the Ministry of Health (Minsa).
He also said that starting next Monday, September 16 , “a discussion table will be set up with all sectors to address the situation of the CSS Disability, Old Age and Death (IVM) program.”
He gave the various social organizations participating in the roundtable until October 31 to submit proposals and discuss them. He asked that each proposal be supported financially.
Another of the president’s important announcements concerns the Oncology Institute of Panama . Its transfer to the new Health City of the CSS will be coordinated, “in order to put it into proper operation.”
This would be the first step towards an eventual unification of the health care system , one of Mulino’s campaign promises.
Mulino made the announcement in a 20-minute address to the nation. There he gave some data that reflect the crisis of the public health system. “Today, the service is inhumane,” he said.
He said that, according to data from the outgoing administration, 20% of the medicines are missing. “But people tell me that, if they are prescribed 5, the Social Security only has 2 and the rest must be purchased at a pharmacy,” he said.
He added: “There is a lack of essential medical supplies to perform operations.”
“Today, the Social Security Fund only has 44% of surgical supplies. This means that more than half of the patients waiting for an operation will have after-effects or will die before reaching an operating room,” he said.
Another devastating fact: he reported that there are 19,350 surgeries delayed because “the system collapsed.”
The incentive program for the national production of grains and other items is under scrutiny. Roberto Linares , head of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Mida), informed the Budget Committee of the National Assembly that he ordered an audit of this project, because he suspects that the objectives of the program were not met.
“A program that was supposedly created so that in supermarkets there would be first-class rice, subsidized at 40 cents, which did not happen (…) We are auditing these compensations, these incentives,” Linares told the deputies. He added that, based on the results, complaints will be filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
However, he added: “We do not want to turn this into a witch hunt.”
Independent MP Betserai Richards asked how much has been invested in this programme since the last government (2019-2024) to date.
Linares responded that around $850 million is spent . Every year, he explained, almost $150 million is invested in incentives or compensation. However, he added that there are “many projects” of the ministry that have not been executed due to lack of money.
He gave as an example the construction of the headquarters in Chiriquí, a project that has been stalled since 2017. It costs between $7 and $8 million, but “it has not been completed due to lack of funds,” he said. Nor has there been any investment in the watering troughs and in the maintenance of the irrigation system in Remigio Rojas, which, he added, “has been demonized in recent years.”
Instead, he said, “all our funds are spent on that,” referring to subsidies
Last August, the Consumer Protection and Competition Authority (Acodeco) revealed that over the past decade (2014-2024), rice producers have received millions in subsidies without fulfilling their commitment to adequately supply the market.
According to the director of the organization, Ramón Abadi Balid, this practice has contributed to the shortage of premium rice in stores, despite state efforts to control prices and ensure the availability of this basic food for the population. On the contrary, they detected an abundance of special rice, which is available at a higher cost.
On August 26, Executive Decree No. 27 was published in the Official Gazette , which removed rice from the price control list.
This measure confirmed an announcement made by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry . The regulation set the price of a pound of premium rice at 40 cents for the past 10 years.
The government also announced the elimination of subsidies for rice producers.
Panama has one of the highest per capita consumption rates of rice in Latin America, with 156 pounds per person per year, which shows that this cereal is one of the main foods on the Panamanian table.
The Ministry of Agricultural Development estimated that the 2024-2025 planting cycle would record a total of 97,790 hectares planted.
However, producers maintain that it could be between 90,000 and 92,000 hectares due to the uncertainty generated by the reduction in financial compensation.
Since the arrival of Deputy Dana Castañeda to the presidency of the National Assembly in July 2024, the entity’s operating budget has experienced an increase of approximately $2 million.
At the time of his inauguration, the Assembly’s total modified budget was $179.2 million, of which $161.1 million were allocated to operations and $18.1 million to investment.
However, as of August 2024 reports, the total budget has grown to $181.2 million, with $163.1 million allocated to operations and $18.1 million still earmarked for investment.
This increase in the operating budget has been mainly directed towards the payment of the second installment of the thirteenth month of civil servants, and this increase in expenditure is expected to continue in the coming months.
On July 10, Castañeda sent a note to the Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman, requesting $3.3 million for the payment of the second (August) and third (December) installments of the thirteenth month, since these expenses were not contemplated in the 2024 budget.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) responded that it did not have sufficient savings to cover the full request of $3.3 million and that it could only release $1.9 million for the second tranche.
Constant budget increases are a common practice within the Assembly. In 2024, the approved budget for the Legislature was $150 million, but throughout the year it has been modified to reach $181.2 million, according to data updated through August. One of the issues that is most questioned in the Assembly is the high payroll, which, according to information available on the website of the Comptroller General of the Republic, has a monthly cost of $6.8 million and includes 3,724 temporary and permanent officials.
In addition, it contains 376 advisors who earn monthly salaries ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, of which 72 receive $5,000 per month.
On Thursday , Congressman Betserai Richards challenged Panama City Mayor Mayer Mizrachi to publicly report on the status of municipal funds.
In a post on the X platform, Richards questioned the transparency of the municipal administration and suggested that the lack of funds could imply a crime committed by the previous mayor, José Luis Fábrega .
“I challenge Mayor @Mayer to give a report on the state of municipal funds,” Richards wrote. “Saying that ‘there is no money’ would imply a crime by the former mayor, and if you do not report it, you would become an accomplice,” he said, demanding a direct response from the mayor.
In the same post, Betserai challenged Mayer to address the problem and not the current deputy mayor of the capital, Roberto Ruiz Díaz.
A conference will be held this Friday morning at City Hall, where details of municipal finances will be given.
A criminal complaint for the alleged commission of the crime of corruption of public servants, embezzlement, abuse of authority, influence peddling and overstepping of public functions was filed against the mayor of the district of Arraiján, Stefany Peñalba .
The complaint – which was filed anonymously on September 10 with the Public Prosecutor’s Office – is based on the fact that the official allegedly collected the first fortnight of July 2024 in the National Assembly, where she was appointed by the Democratic Revolutionary Party as an advisor and also collected the fortnight of that same month as mayor of the Arraiján district.
According to the document containing the complaint, Peñalba would have violated article 349 of the Penal Code , which establishes that a public servant who accepts an appointment, receives remuneration without providing the service for which he has been designated, without justified cause will be sanctioned with a fine of $150 to $300 days or community service.
According to the complaint, Peñalba committed the crime of dual functions by being appointed to the Assembly and holding the position of mayor of the district of Arraiján. In addition, the document details that she would have committed the crime of abuse of authority contained in article 355 of the Penal Code .
At the same time, she argues that Peñalba has appointed relatives as officials of the Municipality of Arraiján, which constitutes an act of nepotism and a lack of ethics as a public servant.
On the National Assembly’s website, Peñalba appears named as administrative assistant II with a salary of $3,000 and on unpaid leave.
Mayor Peñalba was asked to respond to the complaint filed against her, but she did not respond to messages or calls made to her cell phone. An email was also sent to her press team.
As of September 12, three people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of National Police Sergeant Jonathan Espinoza , 29 years old. The homicide occurred on September 5, 2024 in the Ciudad Radial sector, Juan Díaz district.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police reported on Thursday the arrest of a man in the Veranillo sector, district of San Miguelito. This person is linked to investigations for the crime of homicide and attempted homicide.
Espinoza, a member of the National Police Intelligence Directorate, was shot several times while performing surveillance work at a convenience store on Calle 14 in Ciudad Radial. An employee of this establishment was also injured in the attack.
The first person arrested in this case is a retired captain of the National Police, who was identified as the former partner of Sergeant Espinoza. The second arrest, of a man, was made during a raid on a residence in Torrijos Carter, San Miguelito.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Espinoza had received threats before his murder.