News
Tuesday 8th October 2024.
October 7, 2024
Jaime Díaz , director of the Institute for the Training and Utilization of Human Resources (Ifarhu) , reported on Monday, October 7, that the entity is “bankrupt ,” has financial commitments up to “three times above” what was budgeted, and has accumulated debts of more than $178 million.
That was the scenario he found when he took office last July.
Díaz said that during the government of Laurentino Cortizo (2019-2024), Ifarhu granted benefits that did not comply with the regulations and the law, and without budgetary support.
“We received an institution that was totally bankrupt. Without resources. We have no technology, which does not allow us to have traceability in any process. We have overdrafts in the accounts of up to three times the budgets granted for operation and we have administrative and investment debts that exceed $178 million ,” he explained this Monday, in a televised press conference from the amphitheater of the Presidency of the Republic.
During the previous government, Ifarhu was under the command of two directors: Bernardo Nando Meneses , who managed the institution until January 2023, and Ileana Molo , who took control of the entity from February 2023 to June 30 of this year. Both belong to the core of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) , the ruling political group during the previous government.
Díaz added that the Ifarhu staff ignored the institution’s financial capacity and continued to grant benefits (scholarships, financial aid) without stopping. He warned that this financial disaster puts at risk the scholarship program of 200 thousand students, who will be affected by late disbursements or by the lack of payments scheduled for this year.
According to Díaz, the General Secretariat of Ifarhu “issued certifications without any legal backing, compromising the institution without a prior contract.”
In terms of operations, he added, there are debts exceeding $36 million. The business is owed $34 million from the PASE-U program , while there are pending payments of at least $2 million for office rentals.
The liabilities do not end there. There are also financial obligations to fuel and transport suppliers, and staff seniority bonuses are owed.
“The financial situation is really precarious. We are developing a payment order, starting with the students who are abroad,” Diaz said at the press conference.
The director asked the beneficiaries of the controversial financial aid to approach the entity and “normalize” their situation. Specifically, he asked for the reimbursement of the money to those who received the benefit, but do not have economic needs or other merits that justify such aid.
To date, according to Díaz, they have recovered $200,000.
Roberto Moreno , director of legal counsel at Ifarhu, reported that the entity went to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office to file a complaint for the irregularities detected, the overdraft and the budgetary and financial disarray. He does not rule out that, as more anomalies are found, other legal actions will be filed. In response to a journalist’s question, Moreno clarified that “the complaint was not received.”
“We fully intend to approach the relevant authorities and inform the Public Prosecutor’s Office of these irregularities,” the official added.
The director of Ifarhu also announced that they will not grant “just one financial aid.” Those interested in obtaining support from the entity must apply for the scholarship program for studies in the country or abroad. This program will come into effect soon.
The merger of the pension system, the allocation of 2% of GDP to social security and the improvement of working conditions for health personnel were some of the points discussed in the debate on the crisis of the Social Security Fund (CSS) , as announced at the press conference on Monday, October 7.
According to Francisco Bustamante, former deputy director of the CSS and appointed advisor to the new general management of the entity, the National Association of Nurses of Panama (ANEP) and the Federation of Organizations of Critical, Chronic and Degenerative Diseases of Panama (Fenaeccd) presented their proposals.
ANEP expressed its support for the proposal of the National Council of Organized Workers (Conato) for the reform of the Disability, Old Age and Death (IVM) program, which includes a merger of the solidarity system and the mixed individual capitalization system, where the government guarantees a minimum financing of 2% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the social security system.
The union also suggests that additional resources come from increased tax collection, reduced tax evasion and the use of funds recovered from corruption cases.
This proposal is a departure from what the National Council of Private Enterprise (Conep) has proposed, which proposes a pension system based on three pillars.
The first pillar is a non-contributory solidarity pillar, which would include the current beneficiaries of the 120 at 65 program; a second pillar of mandatory individual savings, which would include women under 45 and men under 50; and a third pillar of voluntary individual savings, but mandatory for the employer, and similar to the Savings and Capitalization System for Public Servants’ Pensions (SIACAP) program.
For its part, Fenaeccd stressed the importance of the representation of patients with chronic diseases on the CSS board of directors, given that “ in Panama there are 400 thousand people who have chronic and degenerative diseases and many of them are directly or indirectly dependent on health systems.”
In addition, the unification of the Official List of Medicines (LOM) of the CSS with that of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) was proposed , to avoid differences in access to certain essential drugs.
Likewise, Fenaeccd proposed that the allocation of resources from the Panama Canal not only go to the IVM, as proposed by Conato, but also be allocated to the health system if funds are available.
They also suggest simplifying the process for purchasing medicines, allowing the CSS director general to approve budget modifications without having to go through the board of directors, which could speed up the delivery of medicines.
For his part, Rogelio Gordón, deputy director of the CSS, stated that the health roundtable addressed issues related to surgical delays and improving the management of patient information.
According to Gordón, the implementation of a clinical information system was proposed, which was purchased and installed between 2014 and 2015, but has been in disuse due to lack of technical support.
It should be remembered that on October 4, the CSS published the call for the purchase and supply of 220 medicines for the sum of $124.4 million , to prevent shortages during the 2024-2025 fiscal years.
The associations also noted that the use of computer systems should not dehumanize medical care, and called for attention to be paid to the relationship between patients and medical staff during consultations.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime ordered the arrest of five people allegedly involved in the crime of extortion, who exerted pressure for the hiring of people for construction projects and for them to join a union. Prosecutor Emeldo Márquez explained that the investigations were carried out after receiving information that two companies, one in the province of Panama and another in the province of Panama Oeste, were being pressured to hire and fire employees.
In the case of Panama West, pressure was applied to fire employees who refused to join a particular union. For his part, Attorney General Javier Caraballo stated that these groups dedicated to blackmail in construction are members of gangs, who seek to pressure businessmen who develop infrastructure projects in areas adjacent to their territories.
Caraballo explained that several gang members who are involved in this activity have already been identified and that they will soon be brought to justice to answer for this type of activity.
On September 27, 2024, the Trial Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama ratified the 14-year prison sentence for a man accused of intentionally spreading the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to his partner.
The verdict was confirmed in a hearing to annul the case, following an oral trial in May, where the accused was found guilty of the crime against public health. The defence sought to annul the sentence, without success, while the court upheld the position of the Public Prosecutor’s Office on the seriousness of the case.
The incident, which occurred between 2010 and 2017 in the district of Panama , involved the accused, diagnosed with HIV since 2004, not informing his partner of his condition, which resulted in the transmission of the virus.
According to prosecutors, this action constitutes an act of deliberate negligence that puts public health at risk. In addition to the prison sentence, he was also banned from holding public office for five years after serving his sentence, as well as being ordered to pay 50,000 balboas in compensation for moral damages to the victim.
A 44-year-old man was arrested pending investigation for the aggravated rape of his daughter, an 11-year-old girl , who is eight months pregnant as a result of the sexual assault.
The minor is in the Luis Chicho Fábrega hospital in Santiago, Veraguas. She remains under observation.
According to information provided by authorities investigating the case, the man is a repeat offender. He also raped another underage daughter in the past.
The incident occurred in Río Guázaro , a community in the district of Santa Fe, in the province of Veraguas, according to Telemetro Reporta .
The facts were made known at a hearing held on the afternoon of Saturday, October 5, in which Julissa González acted as the judge of guarantees. In this judicial proceeding, the Public Prosecutor’s Office was represented by prosecutor Irving González. Gisela Vásquez represented the victim, while Teresa Ruiz did the same for the perpetrator.
A Treasury Bill Auction will be held this Tuesday, October 8, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) reported .
The auction, announced for a “non-binding indicative” amount of 100 million dollars and due in October 2025, will be offered publicly through an American Auction or Multiple Price through the Latin American Stock Exchange, the entity detailed.
The Treasury Bills correspond to the D12-9-2024 series.
Offers will be received from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Those interested, the MEF noted, can obtain the placement procedure on the MEF website or at the offices of the Latin American Stock Exchange.
“The Treasury Bills issue will be offered to investors in the local market through the Market Makers program and placed through LATINEX, as part of the National Government’s new strategy to diversify the State’s sources of financing and thus leverage itself more in the local market, thereby reducing Panama’s dependence on international markets,” he said.
Last August, the MEF met with participants in the Panama Domestic Public Debt Market Makers Program to announce the new Treasury Note Issuance Strategy, recently authorized by the Cabinet Council, with the aim of diversifying the State’s sources of financing.