Friday
Friday 9th August 2024.
August 8, 2024
Panamanian boxer Atheyna Bylon continues to make history by achieving a victory by decision over Cindy Ngamba , and will compete for the gold medal in the 75 kilogram semi-final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Bylon showed a good combat plan, in which she sought to take advantage of his distance with the jab and moving to the sides. The objective worked perfectly against an opponent like Ngamba who always went forward, taking advantage of her speed and aggressiveness.
This made the judges decide to give the fight to Bylon with cards of 4-1.
“Thank God we achieved our goal. We have to give it our all until the last round is heard,” she said. With this result, Bylon will have to face China’s Li Qian on Saturday, August 10 for the Olympic gold medal.
Bylon, a native of the San Miguelito district, had just beaten Kazakh Valentina Khalzova in the round of 16 and had to go all out in the quarterfinals to defeat Polish Elzbieta Wójcik (3-2). Atheyna Bylon is the first Panamanian athlete to win an Olympic medal. In addition, it is the first medal for Panamanian amateur boxing. She also joins Lloyd LaBeach and Irving Saladino as the only athletes from the Isthmus to win a medal at the Olympic Games.
The triumph of Panamanian boxer Atheyna Bylon on Thursday, August 8 , which gives her the pass to compete for the gold medal in boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games , was celebrated by the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, together with leaders of political parties.
The president had a meeting on his agenda with the main leaders of the political groups to analyze the economic situation of the Social Security Fund, which coincided with the three rounds of glory that Bylon had.
Once the decision was announced in favor of the Panamanian and the referee raised his hand in a sign of victory, shouts of joy and applause from those present could be heard in the meeting room. Several people, including Mulino, stood up to celebrate this victory for Panama. With this result, Bylon will have to face China’s Li Qian on Saturday, August 10, for the Olympic Games gold medal, at 3:00 p.m.
The Institute for the Training and Utilization of Human Resources (Ifarhu) distributed $380,833,655.91 in non-reimbursable financial aid and other programs between 2014 and 2024 , according to a list released this Thursday, August 8, by the Presidency of the Republic.
The list contains the names of 23,631 beneficiaries , the amount awarded, the amount disbursed, the date and details of the educational institution and the chosen career.
The information provided this Thursday complements the interactive database that La Prensa presented on April 9, 2024, with 4,903 beneficiaries (although only 2,144 were identified by name) of the economic aid distributed by Ifarhu between July 7, 2019 and May 24, 2023.
This action marks a turning point in the management of these public funds, since until now, Ifarhu had been determined to hide this information. In fact, Bernardo Nando Meneses, who was director of Ifarhu until last January, told the National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (Antai) that he would not hand over the files of those who benefited from these public funds because they are “personal data” and –according to him– it is information that cannot be shared.
To top it all off, the Comptroller General of the Republic took a further step towards opacity and decided to classify the information on financial aid as “confidential.”
In contrast, José Raúl Mulino , who took office as President of the Republic on July 1, had publicly committed to putting an end to this secrecy and to disclose the information, which he did on Thursday.
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , was approached by La Prensa this Thursday, August 8, in relation to the constant political interventions of former President Ricardo Martinelli from the headquarters of the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama, where he is in asylum.
“The Foreign Ministry is working on it… that’s the most I can tell you,” Mulino replied when asked if he had given any instructions to prevent former President Martinelli from continuing with these actions.
Martinelli is actively involved in Panamanian politics. He has criticized decisions made by Mulino himself.
When the presidency of the Credentials Committee was being contested in the National Assembly between Alexandra Brenes, from the Vamos coalition, and Shirley Castañeda from Realizando Metas (RM), the former president tried to attack the independent.
Mulino won the general elections on May 5 with the party Realizing Goals, after Martinelli was disqualified for his 10-year prison sentence in the New Business case.
Former president Martinelli was a central figure in the party’s presidential campaign, appearing in messages alongside Mulino.
Martinelli carries out these actions in contradiction with the conventions that regulate the figure of asylum.
The 1928 Asylum Convention, one of those invoked by Daniel Ortega ‘s regime to grant protection to the former president, establishes in its fifth article that “while asylum lasts, asylum seekers will not be permitted to engage in acts contrary to public tranquility.”
Meanwhile, the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum reinforces this provision and adds: “the asylum-granting official shall not permit asylum-seekers to engage in acts contrary to public tranquility, nor to intervene in the internal politics of the territorial State.”
Dino Mon is an actuary. This means that he is an expert in the application of statistical and mathematical models for risk assessment in the insurance and financial industries. He was appointed this Wednesday, August 8, as the new director of the Social Security Fund (CSS) by President José Raúl Mulino.
The president changed the course of the last administrations, which opted to appoint doctors or administrators in the entity.
Mon arrives at the most critical moment for CSS, with a bankrupt pension subsystem, severe administrative and technological problems, and huge investments in sight.
His name was one of those considered as director of the entity during the administration of Laurentino Cortizo, but at that time his appointment did not materialize, nor was there any progress made on a reform to the pension system to stop the economic erosion of the subsystem exclusively for Disability, Old Age and Death (IVM).
The actuary was at the head of Mapfre Panama for more than 20 years. He resigned from that position in 2018, when he decided to enter the world of insurance independently and in consulting, through the USAAAR Group.
Between 2022 and 2024, Mon assumed responsibility as advisory actuary for the IFRS 17 Transformation Project at the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama.
He also participated, from the private sector, in the analyses and efforts that were made to reform the CSS pension system in 2005.
Mon was reportedly involved in several working groups that analysed the pension system crisis, the results of which were delivered to President Mulino.
This approach would have been a point in favor of the actuary for the president to appoint him to head the CSS.
An actuary plays a crucial role in the reform of pension systems. He or she analyses long-term sustainability through detailed projections of benefits and costs.
In addition, it creates scenario models to assess the impact of potential changes or reforms and advises on investment strategies that maximize fund performance.
Mon has publicly stated that the funds for the exclusive defined benefit subsystem will run out this year.
The question, however, is how retirees will continue to receive their checks. Mon has explained that, in the short term, the current administration can adjust the accounts and manage the flow of money to avoid immediate problems. However, this Government will not have the capacity to continue postponing such a situation.
Two years ago, he said the government would probably not be able to avoid paying $1 billion a year, while another $1.4 billion would be raised through changes to the system’s parameters.
According to the latest reports from the CSS Technical Actuarial Board, more than $ 14 billion would be needed to cover pension payments during this decade.
According to the 2023 Census, the total population of the Indio River basin is 13,640 people. It was estimated that around 2,264 people lived in the area that will be affected by the project, of which 2,000, or the equivalent of about 500 families, were within the reservoir area.
Amílcar González, a supervisor specializing in control and monitoring of Panama Canal projects , announced that, in order to know exactly the number of people living in that region, they have started a new census last week to update all the information specifically for the area that is affected.
“In this area there are not only houses; there are also churches, schools and other facilities. The number one priority for the Canal is to serve the community. That is why the census began last week,” he said.
He explained that they are looking to identify the number of homes, the number of families, the economic activity they are engaged in, in addition to the dynamics of the community in general, as well as the businesses and establishments that comprise it.
“We are doing a census house by house, community by community, to be able to have information on how many people require care and thus develop the resettlement plan. What we want is for them not to be affected and to be able to provide them not only with what they have today, but something better,” he added.
He reported that for this census a direct contact number has been activated so that the community in the area can also communicate with the Panama Canal Authority : 6671-8653, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, or by email to consultasprogramahidrico@pancanal.com .
“We need the community to understand the importance of this project,” said González at the XIII Symposium on Energy and Water Industries of the Panamanian Industries Union.
He said that they have four offices to serve the communities in the area and that a fifth office will open next week.
Following this census, they will draw up a resettlement action plan, and next year they will begin developing formulas to implement compensation measures for the communities that will be affected.
He stressed that the solution of the reservoir on the Indio River is the most viable and will represent water benefits for the country, since this infrastructure is intended to provide water to the population and reduce the pressure on the Canal from the water treatment plants.