News
Wednesday 24th August 2022.
August 24, 2022
The drug commission that meets weekly in the Presidency of the Republic evaluates making direct purchases in the international market. This was announced by the Vice President of the Republic and Minister of the Presidency, José Gabriel Carrizo, who explained that the director of the Social Security Fund (Enrique Lau Cortés) gave a report on the recent purchases made in Colombia. “[Lau Cortés] informed the table of the possibility that, in conjunction with organizations such as Comenenal, the federation of retirees, chronic patients and some government authorities, we could go directly to acquire medicines from international markets,” Carrizo said.
The Great National Alliance for Panama, made up of more than 150 associations, made a call this Tuesday, August 23, 2022, to recover trust, peace, personal security and respect for private property in the country. However, at a press conference their spokesmen stated that “the method that is currently being followed “does not represent the majority of the country”, referring to the so-called single dialogue table, where social groups and representatives of the Executive participate, in Penonomé, province of Coclé. Instead, “in the Great National Alliance for Panama we propose to effectively integrate all sectors in all regions” of the country, it was announced this Tuesday, in an activity held in the city of Santiago de Veraguas. At this conference, the president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the Republic of Panama, Alicia Jiménez, called for the establishment of a “large inclusive and participatory national table.”
The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) sent to the Comptroller General of the Republic the addendum that will modify the cost and scope of the first section of the failed beach corridor. The project was reformulated in 2020 by the MOP, after accounting for some $180 million in compensation costs and relocation of public services that were not included in the original contract, awarded in 2018 to the Corredor de las Playas consortium, made up of the companies FCC Construcción, SA and Cicsa. First designed as a 32-kilometre highway, the project was reduced to a 6-kilometer viaduct, beginning in the La Espiga sector, at the end of the La Chorrera highway, to culminate in the Hacienda Los Calderones sector Currently, feasibility studies are being carried out for the work, a project that would be built under the Public-Private Partnership scheme. For the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Panama, this type of association is “attractive” to promote local and foreign investment in projects of public interest and thus jobs. However, the union points out that it is important to improve transparency mechanisms to improve the country’s image and thus attract more foreign capital.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ( ECLAC ) improved this Tuesday its growth forecast for Latin America to 2.7% from the previously estimated 1.8%, despite a very complex scenario of slowdown and inflation, which will deepen in the second half of the year. For Panama, the organization calculated a growth of 7%, the best for the Central American region, where the average will be 4.1%. The global scenario of low growth and rising prices, “along with lower growth in trade, the appreciation of the dollar, and the tightening of global financial conditions (seeing a rise in interest rates), will negatively affect the countries of the region ”, explained ECLAC. For Central America, the estimate is 4.1%, with Panama having the best numbers (7%), while the Caribbean is expected to grow 10.2%, although this subregion reaches 4.7% if Guyana (52%) is excluded. To face this new slowdown cycle, ECLAC considers that “it is urgent to boost investment”.