Martinelli promises gift to 400,000 Panamanians

SOME 400,000 Panamanian citizens will get a pre-election gift that will allow those with analog television sets to receive digital cable.

President Ricardo Martinelli made the announcement On Monday, December 16 in Colón and said that his administration will spend $12 million to buy 400,000 conversion boxes. He said that they will be distributed throughout the country.

"We are going to keep buying all the boxes we need, we're going to give it to all Panamanians who have analog television sets," he said. Each digital box is valued at $40.
Martinelli catalogued these decoder boxes as the "cable of the people" and said that cable companies should add some educational and cultural channels to improve the quality of life of the country.
"We are changing the quality of life for a huge number of Panamanians," the president said.