Prosecutor battles crime, budget cuts

WHILE PANAMA  anti corruption prosecutors fight to cope with an unprecedented case load largely related to the previous administration and its business cronies, the country’s Attorney General is engaged in a battle to obtain sufficient funding.

Kenia Porcell, asked the National Assembly Budget Committee to take another look at the Public Ministry’s (MP)  request for funds.

In the State Budget for 2018,  the MP requested $151 million. The  Finance Ministry recommended that Members approve only $116.6 million.

Porcell told committee members that she must contract more collaborators to carry out the investigations in the hands of the Ministry and reminded them that funds for the fiscal year 2017 were already exhausted.

The operational budget for 2017 was used mainly for international court hearings, Porcell said and added that prosecutors have had to conduct a series of trips to hold meetings and arrange bilateral cooperation agreements.

Because of the type of crime prosecutors are investigating, translations of English, Portuguese and Catalan, have cost over $250,000.

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