Business Chamber slams Assembly budget increase

Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Agriculture has questioned the $29 million increase in the budget of the National Assembly at a time when the Legislature is expected to tighten its purse strings and manage resources efficiently.

“The allocation of budgets to political payroll and/or influencers is frustrating for the productive sectors that make enormous efforts to maintain jobs and reactivate the economy. It is time to finally invest in basic public infrastructures, such as water, sanitation, and waste disposal, that affects all the inhabitants of the country ” said a statement from the business union on Sunday, August 29.

For the Chamber, it is crucial that the General State Budget for fiscal 2022 is limited to an anti-cyclical fiscal policy, generating a significant reduction in operating expenses, in order to increase current savings, to finance a reasonable percentage of prioritized public investment

According to analyzes carried out by the Chamber’s Center for Economic Studies, the budget allocates more resources to the areas of health, education, and security, but mainly destined to operating expenses and payroll.

The Ministry of Education’s capital spending is cut by $8 million, in a year in which the educational system will require large investments to maintain biosecurity measures that guarantee presence in classrooms.

Another point that is imperative to review is the special laws that grant automatic increases. In the last three years, these have caused expenditures of $906 million, a great limitation for public investment.

“At a time when the country must bet on the reactivation of key sectors for the economy, it is critical to invest in these areas. However, the cuts made in tourism that impede the equipping of the new Convention Center and tourism promotion.