Citizens  against new seafood market lead court move

The Citizen Consultation Movement went to the First Superior Court of Justice on Monday, August 8, to request the definitive suspension of the project for the construction of the new seafood market in Calidonia.

The movement believes that Panama Mayor, José Luis Fábrega, has a “challenging” attitude in continuing with the project despite the existence of a temporary suspension order issued by the Eighteenth Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama.

In addition, the Third Administrative Litigation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) agreed to the provisional suspension of a resolution of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which authorized Fábrega to use three farms on the coastal strip to build the new market.

On July 19, the Mayor’s Office made a second call for bids for the work,  with a reference price of $43 million, but it was reported that there were no bidders La Prensa  reported

While the action of the group presented the brief in the High Court, Mayor Fábrega referred to the issue in the middle of a press conference to announce a new moratorium for taxpayers from August 15 to November 30.

“First, it is not to insist. We are respectful of the law, as we have always been, and we have complied with it. The construction of the seafood market is included in the budget for the fiscal year 2023. It is one of the members of the comprehensive network of municipal markets”, he said.

He alleged, that the allocation of resources for this new project appears in 2023 because this is indicated in the five-year plan of the Decentralization Directorate, which was approved on March 15, 2022. He indicated that the document breaks down the different scheduled disbursements, according to the progress of works.

On August 2, the mayor managed to get the Municipal Council to approve an agreement so that the projects that were to be developed in 2022 continue their execution in 2023, including the market.