Electricity, Migration and CSS are Major Panama Concerns To Deal With

The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, once again denounced the poor service offered by the companies Naturgy and Ensa.  The company Naturgy owes the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, $513 in damaged equipment due to the “constant power shortages” that its properties are experiencing.  “Naturgy is not doing badly, what is doing badly is the Panamanian people and the service that the company offers,” said the president, during his second weekly meeting with the media.  “That company had a turnover of 175 million euros ($190 million) last year, it grew 22% between 2022 and 2023, it is a business that is growing at a good pace, but that does not mean that the service is deficient and bad,” criticized the governor, who has been questioning the quality of the work carried out by the company for several years.  The president clarified that, although he announced that his government will be pro-private enterprise, this cannot be placed above the situation that citizens are suffering.

“I do not want to damage the image of any company, because foreign investment is important, especially from Spain (the country where Naturgy comes from) which has proven to be a friendly country to Panama, but Panamanian users should not have to pay for these inefficiencies and expenses out of their pockets,” he said.  The leader recalled the $14 million fine that the company already has, anticipating that it may not be the only one and that they are studying applying one to the company Ensa, which is in charge of distributing the electric service in Panama East, Colon, Darien, Comarca… Guna Yala and the Pacific Islands, more than 510,000 clients.  “The fine is not a whim, but rather a failure to comply, although I must point out that the company that holds the record is Naturgy, because Ensa performs its service better (…).  There is a lot of money to be collected there and I am going to be ruthless with that.  [These companies work for] a concession from the State and we are going to manage them as such,” he assured.

Mulino’s criticism also extended to the National Lottery of Charity (LBN), due to its high costs. “The director Saquina Jaramillo informed me that the situation that the lottery is going through is not good.  This institution lacks systematization, something that we are going to try to solve with the support of the Government Innovation Authority,” he said.  He added that if the LBN continues to be managed without the appropriate systems, this could end up becoming a “disaster” that will lead to its imminent “bankruptcy.” This is because it is estimated that the return of banknotes is around 33%.  The Executive revealed that they will stop using the electronic lottery service until further notice, because it reduces the entity’s profitability and efficiency. “There will only be Sunday lotteries, Wednesday lotteries and the fat lottery,” said the president.  Mulino said that there are individuals who are “profiting” from the electronic lottery, which generates weekly revenues of more than $900,000.  “The commission that ticket sellers receive is 12.5% ​​and the operator earns 2% of gross sales.  This is not a business for the State, so we have to make the institution transparent, to restore its credibility,” he added.  “We are preparing a draft law to modify the current organic law of the lottery, which dates back to 1969. We want to modify it in order to give greater recognition to the thousands of ticket holders who make the profitability of the lottery possible and, of course, the benefit it gives to the population,” he stressed.

He spoke about the elections in Venezuela and the difficulties faced by Venezuelans.   During the meeting, the migration situation was raised again, after learning of the death of 10 migrants who were crossing the Darien jungle, because they traveled a route that was not designated by the State. “That is the risk that is run when migrants leave the controlled route. The controlled route is not the panecea for transit, but it is more protected,” the president reflected.  It was pointed out that these people drowned in the Carreto area, Guna Yala region, and that a group of citizens tried to bury the bodies without notifying the authorities, something that constitutes a crime. Regarding the migration issue, Mulino referred to the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States, urging the authorities to begin repatriation flights as soon as possible, with the aim of better controlling the trafficking of migrants and beginning to repair the environmental damage in the region.  “On Monday of this week (July 22) I spoke again with the ambassador (Mari Carmen Aponte) asking her to start producing humanitarian flights (…). We are ready to begin,” he stressed.  Regarding the environment, he confessed that they are considering requesting an additional $3 million to begin the process of environmental regeneration in the area, due to the waste and paths left by migrants crossing the jungle.  “Each migrant leaves behind about five kilos of waste and the paths they open are no longer trails, but highways, and all this without taking into account the abandoned dead.  The president was optimistic about the elections in Venezuela on July 28, emphasizing his theory that if the political reality of that country improves, the transit of migrants through Darien will be reduced, since Venezuelans represent 66% of the people who use that route.  “If the political situation in Venezuela improves, it is to be assumed that fewer people will want to venture into that jungle. If it gets worse, we must prepare ourselves, because I believe that number will increase, in a very short period of time,” he predicted.

Another point discussed at the conference was the Social Security Fund (CSS), which the leader described as “the main priority of his government at this time.”  “I will call a meeting with the presidents of the political parties next week, so that this will be the priority issue on the agenda until the end of the year. Hopefully we can finish this topic without any major problems before the end of this year,” he announced.  He explained that his emphasis will be on the Disability, Old Age and Death (IVM) program, as well as the lack of medicines and the hospital surgical delay. “We have people who request an appointment today and get it in March, when it is possible that they will already be dead, when that date arrives. That is the most difficult aspect, but I am hoping to have a General Director of the CSS, by September or October,” he said.

The press conference also served as a stage to announce the level of progress in the construction of some hospitals nationwide. Among them: the Children’s Hospital, which is 43% complete and is one year behind schedule; the Manuel Amador Guerrero Hospital in Colón, which is 80% complete and should be ready this year at the beginning of next year; and the Aquilino Tejería Hospital in Coclé, which is 65% complete.  Other projects mentioned were: the Metetí Hospital in Darién, which should be completed in a year and a half; the Bugaba Hospital in Chiriquí, which “will become a reality”; and the Joaquín Pablo Franco hospital in Las Tablas and the Anita Moreno Regional Hospital in Azuero.  In conclusion, Mulino expressed his sadness at the death of 16 Panamanians from dengue. “We cannot neglect the campaign to clean up and eliminate breeding grounds throughout the country. This disease kills; it is not just a bad cold, but a disease that, if not treated, can be fatal.”