News
Thursday 16th January 2025.
January 15, 2025
The deputy of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Jairo “Bolota” Salazar −who was also reelected as representative of the Barrio Norte district , in Colón− is under the scrutiny of the Comptroller General Anel “Bolo” Flores .
Barrio Norte is the municipal council that received the most money from the National Decentralization Authority (AND) during the previous government, through the so-called “subprogram of national interest,” commonly known as parallel decentralization . Barrio Norte received $14.1 million , outside the decentralization law and without any criteria or parameters to justify it.
The same thing happened with Yoel Rodríguez , Salazar’s fellow party member and representative of Cristóbal Este in the 2019-2024 five-year period, although he received much less: $5 million from parallel decentralization.
If Gerardo Solís , the Comptroller General until December 31, said that everything was in order in local governments and that only 3% of audits had recommended making “adjustments,” his successor in office has a different opinion.
“The community councils of Barrio Norte and Cristóbal have no basis [for the use of these funds]. We will investigate them with the full weight of the law and with the support of the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” Flores said on Tuesday, January 14, in his first press conference as comptroller.
They are not the only ones. A neighbor of former President Laurentino Cortizo (2019-2024) in Costa Abajo de Colón, Eugenio Delgado , who served as a Health representative and is now mayor, will also be investigated.
Comptroller Flores found that documents and computers were destroyed in several community councils to hide information. He warned that those who tried to “play smart” will not get away with it, since all the necessary documentation is in the National Bank of Panama (BNP).
“We go to the bank. Everyone’s accounts are there,” said ‘Bolo’ Flores, who also pointed out that only 34 of the approximately 600 community councils submitted the information requested by the AND. The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , had announced that the community councils had 60 days to submit their reports to the new director of the AND, Roxana Méndez .
A month ago, Méndez reported that 54 files reviewed from various communal councils and municipalities present inconsistencies in the justification of the resources assigned, which is equivalent to a total amount of $39.9 million dollars.
Between 2020 and 2024, the communal councils administered a total of $320 million, the majority managed by members of the PRD.
Salazar has not been to the Assembly for months. Last July, he attended 63% of the legislative plenary sessions. Since then, he has not been there. He has not been seen in the working committees either.
Flores also announced investigations into the communal councils of Betania, Curundú and Ancón , which handled $9 million without justification.
“In Curundú, there is nothing that benefits the community. The misuse of these funds is unforgivable. We will recover that money,” he said.
In Colón, the case of Salud stood out , a community of less than 500 people. The community council of this district is the sixth that received the most funds in the entire country from the AND.
“We will not allow these abuses,” Flores stressed.
The PRD representative for Health, for the fifth time, is Eugenio Geñito Delgado, who delegated his substitute for this period, since he assumed the role of mayor.
During a tour by La Prensa in 2023 through Costa Abajo de Colón, members of the community pointed out that Delgado is very close to Cortizo.
Between 2021 and 2023, Delgado managed more than $6 million in parallel decentralization funds; however, the Health community has neither drinking water nor electricity.
The comptroller said that “when I call a person who has 10 checks for $1,999 or who was under the radar of fiscal control, I want to see what he or she will say.”
He revealed that, like that official, “we have many people who did improper things.”
Comptroller General Anel Bolo Flores faces a major challenge by agreeing to audit the National Assembly’s payrolls, a task that has been flatly blocked in the past.
An example of this was the failed attempt by former Comptroller Federico Humbert (2014-2019) , who literally had the doors of the legislative chamber closed to him. However, Bolo Flores warns that he will not stop in the face of similar obstacles.
“If they put me in chains, I will have to resort to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for a search,” he said on the Noticias 180 Minutos program , stressing his determination that no one should be above the law.
According to the comptroller, the president of the legislative body, Dana Castañeda , has already been asked for information on appointments and salaries. This exhaustive analysis seeks to identify irregularities, especially in cases of people who, supposedly, receive pay without working.
“The Panamanian people are tired of this practice,” denounced ‘Bolo’ Flores, making it clear that his administration will not tolerate such abuses.
The President of the Assembly has repeatedly stated that the Assembly’s staff has been reduced under her administration.
For example, at the beginning of the ordinary sessions, during his speech, he stressed that the funds from the controversial payroll 172 were not used, which resulted in the non-renewal of approximately 2,000 contracts and generated savings in the Assembly’s budget. These resources were transferred to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
She also pointed out that the number of permanent and temporary staff was reduced, dismissing more than 600 officials, many of whom did not have defined functions within the institution. However, she explained that she was forced to reinstate a considerable number of them because they were protected by special laws and privileges.
In the case of the Comptroller’s Office, ‘Bolo’ Flores indicated that 480 temporary contracts were not renewed at the end of December as part of an effort to reduce the size of the State.
He justified these measures as necessary to improve the efficiency of the public sector and avoid unnecessary expenditure. However, he acknowledged that this process must be carried out in an orderly manner and with minimal impact on the national economy.
Another problem highlighted by the comptroller is the salary inequality within the institution he heads.
He complained that there are employees with decades of service who are poorly paid, while others, newcomers, enjoy high salaries. “It is a great injustice,” he lamented, and assured that he will work to correct these disparities and raise the morale of the employees of the Comptroller’s Office.
For ‘Bolo’ Flores, an efficient public administration depends not only on reducing expenses, but also on motivating its staff.
The Panama Tourism Authority (ATP) regretted the “inconveniences” that arose during the Thousand Skirts Parade held in Las Tablas, Los Santos province, last Saturday, January 11.
“There is always room to improve and further enhance this cultural event that exalts Panamanian traditions. We are willing and have taken into account all the suggestions for this year,” said ATP administrator Gloria De León in a statement. She also announced that she will work on optimizing logistics, organization and the inclusion of new initiatives.
This, after the Board of Trustees of the National Festival of La Mejorana described the day as a scenario of improvisation and anarchy, where “playing it cool” predominated and the disappearance of the event’s logistics coordinators.
Likewise, the delegation of alumni of the Pan American Institute (IPA) repudiated “all the factors that combined to cause the disaster that ended an event that was meant to be colorful and full of camaraderie.”
They also urged the authorities to take the necessary corrective measures to ensure good conditions for the activity.
The disorder was such that, in addition to friction between the participating groups, insults and aggression were recorded between the attendees.
The lack of control and the weak intervention of some law enforcement agents contributed to the magnitude of the riots.
Regarding attendance at the parade, the ATP reported that more than 276 thousand attendees , more than 120 delegations and 15,000 people were present, generating an economic impact of $41.5 million in the Azuero region. An economic movement of $60 million had been projected.
The parade has an annual budget of $150,000.
Hotel occupancy was 100% in the Azuero region and 80% in the areas between Aguadulce and Santiago.
This year, as a novelty, the Vereda Mil Polleras, Artesanías, Gastronomía y Emprendimientos was presented , a space dedicated to entrepreneurs and artisans that generated approximate profits of $165,380.
More than 500 units of the National Police were deployed in the province, along with 13 ambulances and a mobile clinic.
The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) , Panamanian Arsenio Domínguez, said on Tuesday that the legislation on the return of the Panama Canal is “clear,” in the face of threats of intervention by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump.
“I don’t normally pay much attention to this type of comment. The law is clear, he was returned to Panama,” Dominguez said when asked about this during the press conference to present the annual report of the UN agency.
“In 1977, we completed the process. The canal is Panamanian,” he said, adding that “people have the right to express their opinion, but that doesn’t mean they are right.”
Trump, who will take office for a second term on January 20, has accused the canal administration of charging the United States excessive fees since December, as well as alleged control of the waterway by China, both allegations denied by Panamanian authorities.
A few days ago, he even refused to rule out “military or economic coercion” to gain control of the canal and the island of Greenland (Denmark).
On the future relationship between the IMO and Washington, especially on issues such as decarbonisation, Domínguez said that he would work with the new administration as with any other, just as was done during Trump’s first term.