Dino Mon Outlines Plan to get CSS Out of the Crisis

Wednesday Dino Mon was confirmed as director general of the CSS, following a controversial vote in the National Assembly. Although the secretary of the National Assembly announced that the vote had been 38 votes in favor and 20 against with 36 votes to win, the actual vote with which the new director of the CSS, Dino Mon, was ratified was 46 votes in favor and 22 against. President José Raúl Mulino expressed his discontent with a young group of deputies calling them kids, the deputies belonging to the Vamos coalition, who all voted against Dino Mon an established politician of the old guard, regarding his ratification.

Directors of the Association of Authentic Independent Teachers announced Thursday September 5, that next Saturday September 14 there will be a general meeting of educational associations, unions and other organizations to unify criteria regarding the reforms of the Social Security Fund (CSS). According to Armando Espinoza, from the Association of Independent Teachers, this is a roadmap to prevent the CSS reforms from including any type of parametric measures.  He added that the meeting will be held in the city of Santiago de Veraguas and all the organizations in the country are coming together to establish the roadmap and present the project as requested by the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, to save the Disability, Old Age and Death (IVM) program of the CSS. The issue of the CSS crisis has generated different reactions, as teachers’ unions are opposed to establishing parametric measures such as increasing the age and quotas.

The newly appointed director of the Social Security Fund (CSS), Dino Mon, reiterated that the parametric measures and other reforms to safeguard the entity do not rest in his hands, but in a national call led by the Executive.  He was emphatic in pointing out that he has no plans to reform parametric measures, saying that this is a sophisticated word.  During his speech at the plenary session, Mon defined himself as a protector of social security and anticipated that any type of effort to ensure the financing of the CSS must come from within. Dino Mon spoke of cutting superfluous expenses to produce savings, as well as approving budgets to strengthen efficient operation.  He was emphatic in pointing out that he has no plans to reform parametric measures, saying that this is a sophisticated word.  He added that any reform to the social security system will not be conceived through the general management of this entity, it will simply be a facilitator in coordination with the plan decided by the president.  When asked what the plan or guide for reforms to the CSS would be, Mon reiterated that he alone cannot establish a plan and that he has not developed one either, and that it is a task that must come from the President of the Republic. He added that this means that convergence must be found on reforms that are acceptable to all Panamanians.