Friday
Friday 20th September 2024.
September 19, 2024
President José Raúl Mulino expressed his concern about “distortions” in the energy market following the approval of a contractual change that increases costs for Elektra Noreste SA (ENSA) users.
The decision was made under the administration of Armando Fuentes, former administrator of the National Authority for Public Services (ASEP), before the end of his term, four months before the Mulino administration began.
The changes in the contract forced ENSA to buy energy in the occasional market, which has a direct impact on rates.
“There are distortions from the point of view of the players in the market,” said the president, referring to the lack of control over the companies that provide electricity services.
“We cannot continue to manage the conglomerate of companies that provide electricity or communications services without the proper supervision of regulatory bodies…” he said on Thursday, September 19, during the weekly press conference he holds from the Presidency of the Republic. There he indicated that the country’s electricity sector has operated for the last 10 years without effective regulation. “And of course, the accumulation of problems on the table is very large.”
“Documents that are illegal, gifts that were given to companies without any reason. And well, we are following up on it correctly and very closely,” he said.
The instruction is “let us minimize the increase in the rate,” he stressed.
In the occasional electricity market, rates are higher because they are not subject to long-term contracts, which generates an increase in costs and, therefore, an increase in rates for consumers.
This scenario arises from a series of events related to energy supply.
In 2015, the Electric Transmission Company (ETESA) awarded a contract to Martano Inc. (now Sinolam Smarter Energy LNG Power Co. Inc.) for the provision of energy and firm power.
However, Martano did not build the planned thermoelectric plant and decided to transfer its contracts, which committed the delivery of energy to several distributors.
After eight years without the construction of the plant being completed, in 2023, Sinolam transferred part of its contract (without reforms) to Enel Green Power, which would be responsible for delivering the promised energy to the distributors Edemet and Edechi.
However, in February 2024, the National Authority for Public Services (ASEP) instructed ENSA to sign a contract with Alternegy, part of the Enfragen group. This contract established new conditions, in the volume of energy to be delivered and in the prices of power, which will directly impact supply costs, resulting in an increase in rates for consumers.
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , announced this Thursday, September 19, that he will soon appoint the two people who will replace the Attorney General of the Nation and the Attorney General of the Administration, since the current incumbents, Javier Caraballo and Rigoberto González , respectively, will complete their term in December of this year.
“There will be two new attorneys general,” said Mulino in response to a journalist’s question about the profile of the next Attorney General of the Nation. “The only thing he must do is his job: investigate the crimes that are the responsibility of the Public Prosecutor’s Office as it should be, without bias. And I am not referring to the current attorney general, but to his predecessors,” he clarified.
He also mentioned that the Attorney General must monitor government actions “with zeal” in order to adequately fulfill his role as State advisor in administrative matters, and focus on following up on pending State matters in the Third Chamber of Administrative Litigation of the Supreme Court of Justice.
“I hope to make those announcements when I return from my trip to New York,” he said. The president will travel to New York, United States, next Saturday to participate in the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations. His return to the country is scheduled for Thursday, September 26.
The director of the Social Security Fund (CSS), Enrique Lau Cortés, appeared before the plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursday, September 19, after being summoned by the Legislature to answer a questionnaire of six questions.
The questions are related to the tender for the “hemodialysis service, supply of kits, construction and installation of hemodialysis units,” awarded on July 19 for an amount of $178.2 million.
The first to question Lau Cortés was deputy Ernesto Cedeño, from the Movimiento Otro Camino (MOCA), who questioned him about the quality of care provided to patients and the issue of drug shortages. In response, the director of the CSS reported that, according to a report he had just received on his cell phone, the supply at the Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital Complex is 88.3%.
However, earlier, the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , in a press conference, had stated that, during his visit to the aforementioned hospital complex last Wednesday, September 18, the head of the pharmacy department informed him that the supply of medicines was at 60% He explained that the Hospital Complex handles about 6 thousand items, and that the medical staff is the one who must request the necessary supplies.
“If the person who needs the medicine or the supply does not ask for it, or asks for it late, it does not enter the purchasing system, and that ultimately generates a shortage,” added the director of the CSS.
Lau Cortés also stressed that the CSS is not only made up of the director – who will leave his post in seven days – but is made up of 35 thousand workers, of which 85% belong to the health sector and 15% to the administrative sector. “All of them will continue in their positions,” he said.
Lau Cortés’ appearance before the legislative plenary ended after 2:00 pm, after the president of the National Assembly, Dana Castañeda, indicated that the regulatory time of 4 hours of session had expired and only 21 deputies were present.
Rice producers marched on Thursday, September 19, to the Presidency of the Republic, in San Felipe, to demand late payments corresponding to the price compensation for the 2023-2024 harvest.
They also protested against “excessive rice imports” during the harvest season, which, according to the rice farmers, “threatens and undermines the country’s food sovereignty.”
The march began at Plaza Vasco Núñez de Balboa on Avenida Balboa to Plaza Catedral, near the Palacio de las Garzas.
The protesters carried banners with messages calling for protection for Panamanian producers in this sector. A commission made up of producers managed to enter the Presidency, where they were attended to by government representatives.
The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) published in the Official Gazette the extension for an additional 25 years of the Panama Canal Railway Company concession contract to operate the railroad between Panama City and Colon.
Resolution number 008-2023 of the AMP board of directors, approved by the administration of former President Laurentino Cortizo, indicates that it was approved to extend the validity of contract number 70, which was initially granted in 1998, for an additional 25 years.
The concession will continue until 2049 with the same clauses, despite the fact that in 1998, when the contract was signed, the market conditions and circumstances were completely different from those of today.
At the end of the 1990s, containerized cargo handling in Panamanian ports barely exceeded 600,000 TEUs (units equivalent to a 20-foot container) per year, but today that figure has surpassed 8 million TEUs per year. Likewise, an expanded Canal is now in operation with larger locks that allow the passage of vessels with twice the capacity of the original Canal. These characteristics required a review of the clauses of that contract, according to industry analysts.
Initially, the contract committed the company to make investments during the first five years for a sum of no less than $30 million and granted it the right to develop, build, operate, manage, renovate, rebuild, modify and direct the railroad and its infrastructure.
The AMP points out that it was possible to verify that during the period of execution of the concession, the Panama Canal Railway Company invested $163.4 million between 1998 and 2018, a figure that exceeded the initial agreed amount of $30 million.
It also states that this company has paid the State the sum of $55.12 million for 25 years, representing 10% of the gross income from all sources of income from activities carried out in the railway area.
The General University Council (CGU) of the National Autonomous University of Chiriquí (Unachi) , in an extraordinary meeting held at its main headquarters on Wednesday, approved a resolution in which it “flatly rejects the blocking of the budget item that has been generated by self-management” of Unachi.
According to a statement released by the General Secretariat of this higher education institution, Unachi is the only institution in the educational sector that has suffered “budget cuts” amounting to $14.9 million. It adds that this prevents it from paying for electricity, internet, insurance for students, laboratory and cleaning supplies, fuel for academic tours, professional and economic services for student welfare, as well as subsidies for research.
On August 14, in a unanimous decision, the Budget Committee of the National Assembly denied the transfer of budget items requested by the rector of Unachi, Etelvina Medianero de Bonagas , to pay juicy retirement bonuses totaling some $600 thousand, and another $250 thousand for operating expenses, which would include precisely the payment of basic services.
The deputies refused to approve the transfer of funds after an uncomfortable session for Unachi staff, especially for the rector, who was questioned about her administration and her morality to be at the head of a state university. However, from the meeting with the deputies, the rector received a warning: they announced to her that they would request a forensic audit from the Comptroller’s Office on the management of Unachi funds.
The rains will continue until the weekend. The National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) has issued a warning for rain and storms that will continue until Saturday, September 21, 2024.
This alert covers Chiriquí, Ngäbe Buglé, Veraguas, Bocas del Toro, Coclé, Los Santos, Herrera, Colón, West Panama, East Panama and Darién, according to reports from the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama (Imhpa).
The IMHPA explained that the rains are due to a low pressure system located in the north of the country, which will later move towards Central America, and an increase in winds from the south.
These atmospheric conditions will generate more intense showers than expected for Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21.
In light of this, Sinaproc has urged precautionary measures to be taken, especially in the most vulnerable areas:
– Avoid crossing rivers and streams that experience sudden flooding.
– Do not stay in areas prone to landslides.
– Stay away from leafy trees that could fall due to strong winds.
In addition, it has been warned that the rains could coincide with the maximum tides of September on the Pacific coast, with expected heights of up to 5.18 meters, which could generate risky situations in coastal areas.