Friday
Friday 22nd November 2024.
November 21, 2024
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , said that he is unaware of the judicial investigations into possible cases of “public corruption” and extortion involving the former advisor to the Comptroller General of the Republic, Odila Castillo , but expressed his disagreement with the application of the principle of contractual balance contained in the Public Procurement La .
“I tell you sincerely: I don’t like contractual balances. Not now, but always, because except in some cases, it lends itself to much of what you say or more,” said Mulino this Thursday, in his weekly press conference, when journalist Eliana Morales, from La Prensa , asked him if his government has adopted any measure to avoid more cases of requests for contractual balance without any appearance of legitimacy.
“In many cases, these blessed clauses only serve to affect the transparency of the public act and to adjust, later in time, the contractual balance, under the pretext that there is not enough money, that cement or steel prices have gone up… But it is in the law. I cannot do anything else. And of course they benefit,” said Mulino.
For this reason, he announced that next year he will present to the National Assembly a project to “comprehensively change” the Public Procurement Law of 2006, “because it is useless and facilitates corruption and clauses like this, which are not abundant in good public procurement.”
Last June, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) of the United States sent a note to Attorney General Javier Caraballo , in which it reported the following:
“ I hereby inform you that the FBI has identified a possible case of public corruption. According to information obtained through human and open sources, Ms. Castillo of the firm Castillo, Guardia & Associates, extorts businessmen by requesting that they pay a percentage in exchange for obtaining government contracts and obtaining approval and issuance of payments from various government agencies .”
The FBI note arrived via the US embassy in Panama.
Mulino acknowledged that he has not received any communication from the embassy regarding “this person” and warned that he has no involvement in judicial matters.
“If there is an open investigation, that is not up to me. On January 2, we have a new comptroller,” he said, referring to the fact that Gerardo Solís ‘ term in the Comptroller’s Office ends on December 31, 2024.
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , stated this Thursday, November 21, 2024, that the project that was presented to reform the Social Security Fund (CSS) will not work without the increase in the retirement age, the contribution of the employer sector and the annual contribution of the State.
At his weekly press conference, the president said he hopes the National Assembly ‘s Committee on Labor, Health and Social Development and, later, the legislative assembly will accept the proposal and that he has no problem with it being widely discussed.
“I hope that all this useless rubbish will be filtered out and a possible proposal will emerge to support the country’s social security system,” said the president.
“It won’t be perfect. But the comprehensiveness of the project is vital. This project doesn’t work without the three-year retirement age , it doesn’t work without the 3% increase in the employer’s contribution, it doesn’t work if the State reduces the $966 million it is committing to contribute to the common solidarity fund of the Social Security Fund.”
Mulino stressed that these points are important within the reforms, in addition to the ability to provide good health services.
The project proposes a three-year increase in the retirement age for all men and women under 55 and 50 years of age, respectively; a 3% increase in the contribution paid by companies; and the elimination of the mixed pension system to form what they have called the “single solidarity fund.”
Currently, women retire at age 57 and men at age 62.
A mandatory annual contribution of $966 million from the State is proposed , adjustable each year, to create a financial cushion for pensions. This amount would reach $1.2 billion with contributions from the State as employer.
The president also stressed that this project took a long time to be addressed and that it addresses not only the fate of the social security institution, but the financial fate of an entire country.
Mulino questioned the arguments that some sectors are expressing against the project, which he compared to fish in water in situations of anarchy and failure of government systems. This, in reference to some unions that have expressed their rejection of the modifications to the CSS.
The project presented by the Executive is currently in the consultation phase in the National Assembly, where citizens and different sectors are expressing their opinions on the proposal.
The mayor of Arraiján, Stefany Peñalba , responded to her detractors. In a message through her networks, Peñalba said on November 21 that they fear her because they cannot control her.
“They fear us because they cannot control us and they attack us because we have taken power out of their own hands and their business is slowly disappearing,” he wrote.
Peñalba has been the target of criticism from a group of residents of Arraiján. They have also filed a complaint against him with the authorities for alleged anomalies.
Last Monday, November 18, lawyer Abdiel González Tejeira, from the independent movement Proyecto Arraiján, filed a complaint against the mayor for alleged crimes of abuse of authority, violation of the duties of a public servant, overstepping her functions, omission of duties of a public servant, alleged influence peddling, embezzlement and criminal conspiracy.
The complaint highlights that, for example, the mayor issued a decree introducing new administrative sanctions, which could violate the Constitution .
For example, it mentions a fine of $1,500.00 for those who park in prohibited areas. González Tejeira recalled that the Supreme Court of Justice has already ruled that this type of regulation is the exclusive responsibility of the Land Transit and Transportation Authority.
The deputy and lawyer Ernesto Cedeño holds the same opinion, considering that several points of the decree could be illegal.
The construction industry is asking the government of José Raúl Mulino to extend the validity of the sector’s incentives, including the preferential interest law, which currently has two expired installments and only applies to housing financing up to $120,000.
The president of the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac), Alejandro Ferrer Solís , said that the sector needs certainty to invest and for this it is essential to define the sections that will be in effect for next year for the coverage of preferential interest for the acquisition of homes.
Ferrer Solís said that the ideal scenario would be to extend this incentive and remain in effect for at least two or three more years, so that developers and builders can plan, acquire land and carry out housing projects in accordance with the law.
He also regretted that the Housing Solidarity Fund , which expired in June of this year, was not renewed. He said that the absence of this incentive leaves without the benefit of the initial payment of $10,000 that was granted for homes up to $70,000, harming both the population that covered that segment and the developers who had projects under construction and pending delivery.
“Capac proposes that there be clear rules on how much the incentive will be and for how many years the preferential interest law will be in force, so that it allows investors to buy land with a view to developing projects with the incentive. But if this incentive is short-term, it does not allow for preparation,” said Ferrer Solís.
He stressed that the preferential interest rate of 4% for homes up to $80,000 and the 4% discount on the interest rate for homes between $80,001 and $120,000 are in effect. While the range from $120,001 to $150,000 expired as well as up to $180,000 and only those homes with occupancy permits until August 2024 were pending for approval and sale to be registered until December 2024.
In order to clarify the issue of the law, Capac hopes to take its proposals to the National Assembly next January, where a project to modify the preferential interest rate is already pending.
He also recalled that the debt to both state suppliers and the Housing Solidarity Fund, which expired, amounted to $150 million, which has been paid gradually but there are still outstanding debts.
Capac expects to close 2024 with growth of between 6% and 7% and contribute at least 15% of the gross domestic product to the economy, in the same proportion as in 2023.
While by 2025, they are expecting to see the extension of incentives for housing construction through the renewal of the preferential interest law, in addition to the guarantee of timely payment to state suppliers, to determine the behavior of the activity.
The Drug Prosecutor’s Office, together with officials from the National Aeronaval Service (Senan), seized a shipment of 296 kilos of cocaine, which were located on a beach on Taboga Island.
Sources from the prosecutor’s office reported that the drugs were found by Senan agents during a routine patrol in the area known as Playa Ondita.
They also explained that 86 bags of marijuana were also found along with the cocaine . According to investigations, the cocaine arrived from Colombia and was hidden on the island to later be transported to the mainland.
According to reports from the Attorney General’s Office, the islands located in the Gulf of Panama are used as routes for drug trafficking arriving from Colombia to Central America.
On November 11, Senan officials seized a shipment of 2,276 kilos of cocaine on Jicarón Island in the province of Veraguas. The drugs were on board a boat manned by two Nicaraguans and one Costa Rican.
Significant drug seizures have also been made on boats near Punta Mala, in the province of Los Santos.
So far this year, authorities have seized some 97 tons of illicit substances, most of which were found in containers bound for the European market.
Between 2019 and 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office managed to convict 452 people in cases related to money laundering and crimes against public administration, reported the Attorney General of the Nation, Javier Caraballo .
Of this total, 217 correspond to money laundering, while 235 are linked to administrative crimes. Among the convictions for money laundering, it was determined that in 217 cases the preceding crime was related to drugs and in 35 to financial crimes.
In terms of economic impact, $50.1 million was recovered during the same period in proceedings linked to these crimes.
He also explained that, in the Accusatory Criminal System (SPA) , 78% of convictions were obtained through sentencing agreements, while in the mixed inquisitorial system, the majority of sentences were obtained in the trial phase.