News
Wednesday 29th September 2021.
September 29, 2021
According to the epidemiological report of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) , in the last 24 hours, 232 new positive cases of Covid-19 were registered, for a cumulative total of 466,589. Two deaths were also reported and one from a previous date was updated, increasing the deaths to 7,219. To detect new infections, 7,242 tests were applied and a positive percentage of 3.2% is maintained. The Minsa indicates that there are 3,420 active cases and 455,950 recovered patients. 3,139 people are reported in home isolation, of which 3,004 are at home and 135 in hospital hotels. There are 281 hospitalized patients, of which 230 are in the ward and 51 are in the intensive care unit (ICU).
The Minister of Public Works, Rafael Sabonge , once again defended his management in the face of harsh criticism from drivers who complain daily about the holes they find in the main streets of the country. “We are repairing the holes, you can see it. We are working day a
nd night, ”Sabonge told reporters during a tour in Bocas del Toro. “We are going to invite you to see the hard work. I know there are many holes, I know there are many needs. We are working hard, hard, “he said.
The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) began this Tuesday, the repair work of a section of the Pan-American highway, heading towards Panama City, in Loma Cová and the four lanes will be closed starting at 10 : 00 pm By noon yesterday, three lanes had already been closed and only one was enabled, heading towards the interior of the country.
81% of the operating budget proposed by the National Assembly for the fiscal period of 2022 would correspond to the payment of personal services: salaries, allowances and other related expenses. That is, $ 103 million 72 thousand 569. In total, the Assembly would have an annual operating budget of $ 126 million 571 thousand 124. For the next year, the Assembly would have $ 16 million 367 thousand for this type of services, which represents an increase of $ 10 million 445 compared to 2021 ($ 5.9 million). Last Wednesday, September 22, the day that Adames supported the Legislative’s budget before his colleagues in the Budget Commission, he argued that this increase was due to the fact that “important infrastructure works have been deployed to expand the concept of citizen participation.” . He assured that it seeks to bring citizen participation to Bocas del Toro, Coclé, Chiriquí, Herrera and Veraguas, among other areas. He did not detail what these infrastructure works entail.
The management of the Tocumen International Airport, SA terminated the contract with CNO, SA – as the Brazilian Odebrecht is now named – for breach of the obligations agreed in the contract for the construction of the new passenger terminal. The cancellation of the contract entails the disqualification of the company (which has confessed to paying bribes in a dozen countries, including Panama) from participating in public works tenders and contracting with the Panamanian State.
As of November 1, 2021, all workers who have suspended employment contracts must be reinstated or the companies having reached an agreement on the relationship with these collaborators. According to statistics from the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel), as a result of the measures adopted by the pandemic, the contracts of some 284,000 workers from 20,000 companies were suspended. Of that total, 174 thousand contracts have been reactivated to date. Most of the workers with suspended contracts belong to the tertiary sector, that is, everything related to services and commerce.
The National Forum of Women of Political Parties (Fonamupp) rejected on Tuesday, what was agreed at the technical table that was in charge of reviewing the first two blocks of bill 544 of electoral reforms. Solangel Robinson, general secretary of the forum, said that keeping without modifications what was previously approved in the first debate by the Government Commission of the National Assembly – and that overturned the proposal agreed upon in the Electoral Reform Commission – does not know the progress made by the Panamanians ” towards a real and effective democracy ”.