Catch 22 reigns as Panama  edges to re-opening

The long-awaited start of the phased re-opening of businesses has left many small businesses complaining that they had insufficient time to implement the protocols required to get back to work on May 13.

A series of productive activities are authorized to resume operations today, But uncertainty reigns  due to the requirements that companies and professionals must meet, in addition to the lack of information

Among the activities scheduled to  open are medical offices, dental services, auto repair shops, electricians, plumbers, gardeners, online retail, pool maintenance, repair of air conditioners, and elevators. In addition, industrial and artisanal fishing  and aquaculture

 But catch 22 reigns when businesses attempt to issue driving permits for essential workers, but must first have an operating permit.

Professionals who are self-employed have not previously needed the operating permit that the Ministry of Commerce now demands.

Lawyer Carlos Ernesto González Ramírez said on his social networks that it would be convenient for the government to adjust the requirements to open businesses to their size. “The current ones are complex, expensive, and with prerequisites. The way to act is based on responsibility, as democratic republics do. Not with prior control ”.

One of the requirements is to have a health committee, something that would be difficult for small businesses.

Felipe Rodríguez, manager of the Felipe Rodríguez Group, said that due to the slowdown in the economy and the total quarantine on weekends, they will have to propose to workers a reduction in the working day, a consensus that they must reach with some groups before open operations. “And you cannot do this overnight. There has also been no time to analyze how the work crews will work, to whom we urgently need or which branches we should open ”, without forgetting that safe-conduits must be processed before the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI) for those who start work.

The rules for letting one child at a time go to the social area of an apartment building accompanied by an adult are also confusing.