Commerce Chamber urges bureaucracy shortcut in reopening

Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap) sais  Sunday, May 24, that they expect the second phase of the economic reopening in an orderly manner and without bureaucracy. At the same time, they urge the Government to set dates as soon as possible.

The Government has not yet defined the date for the reopening of block 2 although a key member of the advisory board said on Saturday that phase 2 would begin on May 26.

“This week we are preparing for the opening of the second block of activities, according to the document ‘Route to the New Normality by # UnPanamáMejor’. However, we are concerned about the lack of clarity of the opening schedule that does not have fixed dates for the following blocks and does not adhere to a unified, concrete and immediate policy that aims at economic recovery under the established health guidelines. It is imperative that an economic team be established to lead the revival of the country, ”states a statement from the union.

The Chamber acknowledges the work carried out by the Government and the health authorities in preserving lives and preventing the collapse of the health system.

But it  now  believes that now, to this work “must be added the challenge of balancing the measures to control the spread of Covid-19 with the necessary economic opening policies that make sense and allow both maintaining and generating jobs.”

“We understand the reasons for caution to proceed to an opening of a new normal, and we are in favor of it being done in a responsible way. However, we must also take care that, from the health and economic emergency, it does not fall into a social crisis due to the growing impact that the pandemic has caused, ” says a press release.

The Chamber highlights that the fact that each day that has passed, due to the condition of the closure of shops, the possibility of sustaining hundreds of thousands of jobs is affected, “a situation that harms both individuals and companies.”

“Now, more than ever, the National Government must be a facilitator of private investment for the good of the national economy. You must support companies and workers to reopen with order and responsibility. This is not the time for bureaucratic procedures or obstacles, which aim to put more restrictions and costs on already hit businesses. ”

The union recalls that the presentation of the Plan “A Better Panama” and the negotiation with the Inter-American Development Bank of a credit line for $300 million for micro, small and medium-sized companies, ” to inject liquidity into the opening process.”

However, it is concerned about the times, since, on the verge of activating a second block of economic sectors, the terms and conditions of this financing are still being agreed.

“The response times that we observe do not correspond to the deadlines and the urgency that are needed for an orderly opening; as there is no articulated plan that coordinates the needs of the various impacted sectors, “it e adds.

To date, 233,000 qork contracts have been suspended as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Ministry of Health reported this Saturday, May 23, that they have not yet defined a date for the opening of the second block. This phase includes the construction of public works, industry and non-metallic mining.