Monday
Monday 23rd September 2024.
September 22, 2024
On September 13, the National Council of Organized Workers (Conato) submitted a bill to the National Assembly to reform the pension system, just at the same time that the government of José Raúl Mulino met with unions, guilds and associations to announce the beginning of the debate on reforms to the Social Security Fund (CSS).
In a letter signed by Nelva Reyes, leader of Conato, the union’s proposal is summarized: the return to the defined benefit pension system and the return to the solidarity system with financial sustainability.
This would mean incorporating the mixed subsystem (which contains individual savings) into the solidarity subsystem, which is currently bankrupt.
According to the letter, this change is crucial to guarantee the financial sustainability of the system and ensure a dignified old age for Panamanian workers.
But on August 31, President José Raúl Mulino had made clear his position on this issue: “It is very nice to talk about maintaining the solidarity system. I am a beneficiary of the solidarity retirement system, but, in the future, we have to see who is going to pay for the party. And, as I have told everyone, we all pay for this party,” he said.
The IVM defined benefit pension subsystem, which is responsible for guaranteeing the retirement of workers, is in a critical situation, accumulating an actuarial debt estimated between $65 billion and $75 billion, according to the CSS Technical Actuarial Board.
This debt represents the deficit that the system will face in the coming years if corrective measures are not taken.
The presentation of this proposal by Conato to the National Assembly came the day after President José Raúl Mulino announced the installation of working groups to discuss future reforms to the pension system and health services of the CSS.
On Wednesday, September 18, it was announced that the participants in the debate have until Monday, September 23 to present and defend their proposals before the deputies . The resulting bill is expected to be presented on October 31, 2024.
A coalition representing more than 9,000 Panama Canal workers has formally requested to be included in the debate on the Social Security Fund (CSS) , specifically at the table related to the Disability, Old Age and Death (IVM) program.
The request was made through a letter sent by the unions UIM, IAFF Local 13, Union of Pilots, Security Guards, NMU, PAMTC, UCOC and SCPC , who consider that their participation is essential to ensure that the concerns and needs of the Canal workers are taken into account.
The letter, dated Wednesday, September 18, states that it is important to include unions in the discussions, given the relevance of the CSS for the general population, especially for those who depend on its services.
“We are convinced that the participation of trade unions in this process is essential to ensure that the concerns and needs of our workers are duly considered in the decisions taken,” the document states.
The coalition of trade unions believes that their experience and knowledge equip them to provide viable and practical solutions.
“Our participation will not only allow our voices to be heard, but will also enrich the discussions with practical proposals based on the knowledge and experience gained,” they added.
On Monday, September 16, the two discussion tables were officially set up to carry out an analysis of the proposals from different sectors to address the crisis facing the CSS.
A bill is expected to be ready to be submitted to the National Assembly by October 31.
The National Assembly , led by the deputy of Realizando Metas, Dana Castañeda , published on the afternoon of Friday, September 20, the tender to renew the audio system in the legislative plenary for $1.5 million.
However, on Saturday morning, the tender was cancelled. According to the Assembly’s Purchasing Department, the decision was made “because new evaluations are required to determine the suitability of the contract.”
In recent weeks, several deputies have complained about the poor audio quality in the plenary session during the discussion of bills.
According to the list of charges published by the legislature, the Assembly is seeking to update and modernize its audio and transmission systems to improve the quality of plenary sessions.
“Currently, the technological infrastructure presents limitations that affect the clarity of communications and the effectiveness of the transmission of debates and decisions,” the institution noted.
Among the problems they face, according to the document, are:
– Obsolete equipment: existing audio and microphone systems are outdated and prone to technical failures, which interferes with the smooth development of sessions.
– Poor audio quality: Members’ speeches are not always heard clearly, making it difficult to follow the proceedings.
– Lack of integration: current systems do not allow efficient integration with modern technologies that facilitate the management and documentation of sessions.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office reported this Saturday, September 21, that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office managed to have a man charged with aggravated wilful embezzlement, and his arrest, for the disappearance of 600 H beams from the Ministry of Public Works (MOP).
Sources from the Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed that the person arrested and charged is the owner of a recycling plant where part of the beams were found. The man was charged with aggravated wilful embezzlement in the degree of primary accomplice.
Anti-Corruption prosecutor Anilú Batista reported that the hearing was held in the province of Panama Oeste .
“For this reason, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has issued arrest warrants for three other people. We are waiting for our auxiliary arms to achieve the arrest of these people, including these individuals and a former official ,” said Batista.
Agents of the Panama Fire Department managed to control a fire that occurred in part of a barrack on Calle 15 Río Abajo (Panama City), on the afternoon of this Saturday, September 21, 2024.
According to Marcos Pérez, from the Fire Department , 20 families were affected by the fire. No fatalities or injuries were reported, although some people were treated for smoke inhalation.
Personnel from the San Miguelito, Carrasquilla and Calidonia stations arrived at the scene to fight the fire. It was reported that the barracks is made up of two sections and that only one was affected.
Following assessments by the entity’s security office, it will be determined whether the other section of the building, which was not affected, can be inhabited by the families. The possible causes of the fire are being investigated .
Panama’s luxury Geisha coffee set a new world record at a private auction on Thursday, when producers Lamastus Family Estate sold one of its lots for $13,518 per kilogram, which was purchased by a South Korean company.
“This lot is small, but extremely delicious. A coffee that has a cup profile that I have not found anywhere else in the world. A coffee that was harvested ripe, with a Honey process, dried in a dark room and we obtained a result, in that cup, extremely excellent,” Wilford Lamastus, owner of Lamastus Family Estate, told EFE. The same producer who imposed the highest price in the recent public electronic auction of the ‘Best of Panama (BOP)’.
Lamastus explained that the 3-kilogram batch of Aguacatillo Elida Geisha Honey, acquired by Korean company Black Road Coffee, was grown at an altitude of 2,060 meters in the town of Boquete, in the Panamanian province of Chiriquí, 500 kilometers from the capital of Panama.
A batch from this same place came out in 2022 that managed to reach, in the electronic auction at that time, 13,286 dollars per kilogram.
“One of the important strengths of this auction was to design a theme, and this year it is the kaleidoscope that shows coffee in different shapes, forms and colors; it offers that variety of flavors and unique characteristics of each lot and its process,” said Lamastus.
The e-auction, which lasted 7 hours and 10 minutes, featured 25 lots of Geisha coffee that entered the auction in a kaleidoscope of flavors in the primary, abstract and symmetrical categories.
“The primary ones are the traditional washed coffees that are highly sought after, they are the coffees where the only thing you are tasting are the intrinsic flavours of the Geisha variety and the terroir. We did other processes. We fermented it in tanks without any type of control, which correspond to the abstract and symmetrical ones, which were very well controlled processes in their fermentation,” added Lamastus.
The successful results of the three electronic auctions in Panama reaffirm the country’s brand, said Hunter Tedman, president of the Panama Specialty Coffee Association, to EFE, after indicating that the preference is not only for the ‘Best of Panama’ coffees, but that these very high prices are repeated just a few days after one auction is held after another.
“This makes us all happy, because it continues to strengthen Panama’s position in the world and the Panama-Geisha brand, which makes us all feel very good,” Tedman said.
At the recent BOP 2024 electronic auction, Lamastus Family managed to set a world record by selling the Elida Geisha Natural Torre lot for $10,013 per kilogram, a price that was surpassed at this private electronic auction.
Buyers from China, the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan participated in the auction.