Government parties face the Christmas Grinch

In the face of a state of national emergency in Panama, the government has canceled all planned celebrations by public entities for Mothers’ Day, Christmas and New Year.

Plans for big shindigs for government employees, costing scores of thousands of dollars were well advanced when the news hit, in spite of a cabinet approved mid-year plan containing public spending, due to a fiscal gap of $ 400 million facing the Government.

But what fiscal restraint couldn’t achieve earlier, the rains did. The cancelation followed devastating floods and landslides that caused deaths and injuries and left thousands homeless.
Some of the events that got the axe were the celebration of the 82nd anniversary of the Comptroller of the Republic, on January 13 2013, at a cost of $ 92,000, at the Hotel El Panama,
The location was hired directly because there are other sites with room for up to 2, 900 people who could provide the service buffet, like the hotel Hard Rock Café, which has equal capacity and offers the same services says La Prensa,
The Ministry of Public Security (Minseg) headed by Jose Raul Mulino, was planning to spend $1.5 million to acquire, 18,500 Christmas packags to be distributed among members active street level police (PN) and non-sworn (administrative staff during the year-end festivities.
Each bag costs about $85 and contains 14 products, including a 10-pound smoked ham and a turkey of equal weight. This bonanza has received bids from several companies, pending a formal award. Whether the parcels are included in the ban, is not clear.
July Molto, PN director, requested the purchase because of the challenges that "the National Police meets every day with its mission to protect and serve both nationals and foreigners in our country …".
Additionally, to celebrate the end of the year, the hotel El Panama, was chosen for a December 14 Christmas dinner for 500 members of the National Police, whose ranks were not specified. The direct cost of this contract was $28,194.