Isthmian Update |
Some of the news in Panama |
Real Estate
fair a success
The real estate fair, Expovivienda,
exceeded all records for the previous year. According to Walter
Medrano, president of the Panamanian Chamber of Construction
(Capac), transactions exceeded the US$180 million recorded in
the previous year.
CSS yield
The average yield of the financial assets of the Social
Security Fund (CSS) was 6.33% last year, a slight improvement
over the performance of 2006, which was 6.21%. The highest yields
were recorded in the mortgage loans granted by the entity, which
have an average rate of 7.7%.
More policemen
The Budget Committee of the National Assembly approved
a provision of US$4.5 million for the appointment of 1,000 new
policemen. At the same time, the Minister of Government and
Justice, Daniel Delgado Diamante, said the draft bill updating
the rules governing some 80 private security agencies will be
presented to the full assembly.
Carnival Board criticised
Complaints were voiced in the daily La Prensa that
although over two months have passed since the Panama City carnival,
a “transparent” report has not yet been submitted
on the expenses and income. The Carnival Board maintains that
the Carnival festivities produced income to the country to the
order of US$76 million “a product of the 31,755 tourists
who visited our country for six days from February 1 to 5”.
There is scepticism about the claim of the number of tourists
the Carnival attracts.
Pipeline company expands
The Panamanian State is now the majority shareholder
of the company Petroterminal de Panama (PTP). PTP is a joint
venture that is dedicated to the flow of oil from the Pacific
to Atlantic via a transisthmian pipeline of 131 kilometers in
length with pipes 40 inches in diameter. President Martin Torrijos
authorized the publication of a new contract to amend the partnership.
The State now has a shareholding of 59% (previously 44%). The
State will collect US$952 million in dividends over a period
of 30 years. The contract provides for the expansion of operations
of the oil company so that Panama will become the energy hub
of the Americas, said president Martin Torrijos.
The contract commits PTP to invest US$100
million for the first 30 months, to increase storage capacity
from 5.8 million barrels of oil to 9.2 million. |
Healing
the rift
The deputies of Ecuador and Colombia met in Panama
under the auspices of the Organization of American States (OAS)
to address their outstanding disputes. The OAS is trying restore
diplomatic relations between the two nations, broken since March
3 after the incursion of Colombian troops to Ecuadorian territory
to attack a camp of the FARC guerrillas.
Cooperation with Cuba
President Martin Torrijos travelled to Havana, Cuba,
to attend the signing of a series of agreements on business
and energy, reported the Secretary of State for Communication,
Erich Rodriguez Auerbach.
Mangroves threatened
The daily newspaper La Prensa says that mangroves
in the country are doomed to disappear if logging and inconsistencies
in the laws governing marine coastal areas continue. This conclusion
is reached after analyzing an investigation by the Water Center
for Humid Tropical America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) carried
out during the first 10 months of 2007, which analyzed the situation
of mangroves and legal rules that seek to protect marine coastal
areas.
U.S. trade agreement
The Panamanian First Vicepresident and Foreign Minister,
Samuel Lewis Navarro, will travel to Washington on May 7 lobbying
for ratification of the trade promotion treaty between that
country and Panama. Lewis Navarro reported that he will talk
with senior White House officials and with senators and Congress
members to promote the signing of the agreement, which has been
frozen since the US government signed it in June last year.
ANAM rejects Chepo hydro scheme
The environmental impact study, category III, on the
mini hydroelectric scheme planned by the distributor Electra
Noreste in Chepo was rejected by the National Environmental
Authority (ANAM). The admission phase of the study did not meet
the minimum requirements.
Hybrid vehicles
The exemption from taxes on hybrid vehicles and give
a substantial reduction for those who use “flexfuels”
combined with alcohol, was suggested by Juan Carlos Navarro,
the PRD presidential candidate. Navarro explained that the objective
of this measure is to significantly reduce environmental pollution,
conserve energy and obtain higher performance per gallon for
reducing costs in the transport system. |
Panama's fleet is
world leader
Panama hopes to close 2008 with
8,000 ships in its registry, reported the director of
the Merchant Marine Department of the Panama Maritime
Authority (AMP), Alfonso Castillero. The Panamanian registry
currently occupies first place in the world with 7,605
ships of 168 million tons or 21% of the world merchant
fleet. The nearest competitors to Panama are Liberia with
2,171 ships (9%), the Bahamas with 421 ships (6%) and
the Marshall Islands with 99 ships (5%). |
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Darien cattle restriction
lifted
A bill to lift restrictions on movement of cattle
in the Darien region was passed in its third reading in the
National Assembly and is now awaiting the sanction of the Executive.
The law will allow the farmers of Darien to move their cattle
to the rest of the country and participate in fairs, with prior
health control.
Panama Ports Company
Nils S. Andersen, general manager of the AP Moller
Maersk Group visited Panama Ports Company (PPC) recently where
he was met by Alejandro Kouruklis, general manager of PPC, who
explained to Andersen the progress of construction work in the
Phase 4 expansion of the port of Balboa. This phase of expansion
means an investment of US$300 million, including the purchase
of new cranes.
Weapon control concern
Gormaz Alvarado, president of the Panamanian Association
of Weapons Owners (APPA), expressed his concern about the bill
that seeks to regulate and control firearms and is currently
in consultation in the National Assembly.
Workplace accidents
Panama has annually about 110,000 workplace accidents,
forcing the Social Security Fund (CSS) to pay US$500,000 a month
in disability allowances and more than US$1 million in pensions
and allowances. The figures were announced by the department
of Occupational Health of the CSS on World Safety and Health
Day.
More tourists
Some 542,000 people visited Panama during the first
two months of the year, according the Comptroller´s Office.
Data indicates that 209,083 were tourists and hikers who spent
US$236 million, some US %36 million more than in 2007 when 500,000
came during the same period.
US wants guerrillas
The daily newspaper El Siglo reported that the US
seeks the extradition of the six guerrillas of the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) arrested on February 22 on the
border with Colombia after a confrontation at sea with Panamanian
police.
Economy buoyant
The monthly indicator of economic activity at the
close of the second month of the year, showed an increase of
10.42%, which is above the 9.04% recorded in a similar period
of 2007, it was reported by the Comptroller General of the Republic.
Construction, mining and quarrying, hotels and restaurants,
trade, transport, storage and communications, community activities
and real estate were the activities that showed the highest
growth, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department
of the Comptroller´s Office. |
Water purifying plant
The district of Bugaba, Chiriqui, is to have a water
purifying plant. The plant, which has already been tendered
for, will have an investment of US$103,000. Hector Caballero,
the district representative of this area, said that this project
would include changing the piping system to replace the areas
where there are asbestos pipes.
Opposition Cooperation
The presidential candidates of the opposition Panameñista
Party, Marco Ameglio, Juan Carlos Varela and Alberto Vallarino,
yesterday declared a truce in the electoral battle that they
have had for several months for the party´s nomination.
The Tabasará Salon in Credi Corp Bank was the site of
the meeting by the candidate and their advisers to try and reach
an agreement prior to the primary on Jyly 6.
Meetings have also been held between members
of various oppositon parties including Molirena and the Patriotic
Union, said Varela.
Fort Sherman for sale
The Reverted Asset Management Unit reported that it
has launched an aggressive new plan for the sale of assets that
reverted to Panama after the departure of the US military that
it has not yet been able to sell. Julio Anguizola Ross, head
of the organization, described the disastrous situation in which
many of these properties were in 2004 and explained that already
there are several projects in operation to rescue and benefit
from this heritage of the Panamanian State.
The Management Unit intends to put out on
bid this year the former US military base of Fort Sherman, in
Colon, implementing a scheme similar to that of Howard, on the
Pacific, with the recruitment of a master developer.
The last word
Discussion of Bill 278, which establishes the regulatory
framework for the Integrated Management of Water Resources continued
in the National Assembly without resolution. Payment for water
services is very complex for all parties, stated Jakarta Rios,
president of the National Assembly Ethics Committee. The daily
newspaper Panama America reported that the topic remained stagnant. |
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The anatomy of a protest |
"Fix our schools!" say
children blocking streets |
By David Dell
It was Friday morning at the general assembly of the United Nations
in New York. Pope Benedict stepped onto the podium to address the delegates
from the world’s nations about human rights. At the same moment
in the highlands of Panama a group of concerned parents and school children
decided to mount a road blockade in an effort to gain their human rights.
The students chose a strategic location – a small bridge at the
entrance to Volcan. Here they placed four large truck tires and covered
them with branches from a tree. I was 9:00 a.m. And within minutes the
traffic in both directions halted. Standing atop the tires and branches
were about a dozen young schoolchildren.
Ten minutes later the police arrived and approached the waiting students.
The young mothers stood their ground and politely told the officers
the reason for the protest were major problems at the Volcan secondary
college because of a build up of toxic rat and bird feces in the space
above the ceilings. Calls to the ministry of education had produced
nothing.
Students and parents stopped traffic
for four hours.
The traffic started to back up and soon the line of waiting cars and
trucks stretched back more than two miles. Two young female students
went from vehicle to vehicle handing out information sheets and tried
to explain why they felt is necessary to cause this disruption. Most
of the drivers I saw accepted the situation but frustration was obvious.
A similar roadblock, some months earlier by students and parents of
the Nueva California school, had resulted in a four-hour blockade. That
was resolved only after the parents and teachers had gained a signed
commitment from the authorities the dangerous structural state of their
school is repaired.
The police parked their truck a hundred yards away and quietly watched
the scene. Their job it appeared was to make sure frustration didn’t
erupt into violence.
I went to the school to see what was causing the many reported incidents
of sickness among the students and teachers. I had been told there had
been 5 inches of rat feces before the ceilings were torn down to wipe
out the problem.
Back at the blockade an official from the Ministry of Education arrived.
She listened carefully as the parents and students outlined their case.
The atmosphere was tense but controlled. The official agreed to inspect
the school. This satisfied both students and teachers and shortly before
12:30 the blockade was removed.
Students informed drivers why they were being held up.
Having seen student protests in North America, the scene in Volcan
was remarkably different. In Volcan the truck tires were never set aflame.
No rocks were thrown at the police and although tempers did rise occasionally,
no verbal insults or foul language was used by anybody.
In New York the Pope had left the United Nations building, his speech
on human rights delivered. In sunny Volcan, the students, parents and
teachers walked back home. The following morning a delegation from the
ministry of education came to the school and promised the following:
To clean all the classrooms. To replace all the ceilings. Build fourteen
new classrooms. Construct a computer lab with Internet connection This
was after all democracy Panama style – where protests can be powerful,
peaceful and persuasive. |
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Dream or reality? |
Panamarina Pushing for approval
from ANAM, government |
The promoters of Panamarina Pacific, the city on concrete stilts
proposed in the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the Canal in front
of the community of Veracruz say they will go ahead with an environmental
impact study providing they have an assurance in advance that if the
study is accepted by ANAM, Panama’s environmental agency, they
will have permission to build.
A rendering of the entrance to Panamarina.
“We want a document that says that if the Environmental Impact
Study is approved and all the legal requirements are fulfilled, that
the government will allow the development of the project,” said
Carlos Llamas, representative of Panamarina.
In the contract, Panamarina will commit to a $300 million investment
into the infrastructure in Veracruz and the government would guarantee
the document needed by the Ministry of Housing (MIVI) to proceed with
the project.
The Environmental Impact Study will cost the Panamarina group $300,000
in addition to the $2.5 million they have already invested in the project.
“We already have half of the machinery we need to begin work,
but we need to have some guarantees,” Llamas said.
Promoters of the 231-building artificial island on concrete stilts
maintain that they have conducted their own technical studies that have
concluded “relatively low” environmental impact.
Panamarina would take the shape of the Panamanian flag.
The 400-hectare project will require an environmental impact study
of the highest category, says National Environmental Authority (ANAM)
director Ligia Castro.
Panamarina Pacific would incorporate 231 high-rise buildings, an 18
hole golf course, marina, hotels, malls, casinos, concert areas, a cruise
port, a congressional palace and single family homes. The project would
be joined to the mainland by a 3.5km highway bridge over the sea.
See images and videos of the mega-project at www.panamarina.com in
which Carlos Llamas explains a plan to run trains on Via España
and the Transismica highway to alleviate the problems of public transportation
in the city. |
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Domestic air fares
rise as fuel prices escalate |
An adjustment of up to US$26.91 in the price of a domestic airfare
on domestic airlines is being implemented by the Civil Aviation Authority
(CAA) which regulates the local airline ticket prices based on the import
parity price of petroleum products, particularly kerosene/jet fuel used
by aircraft.
The subsidy on the gallon of diesel for public transport will continue
until the government takes a decision on the present transport system.
This was disclosed by the Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade, Manuel
Jose Paredes when he announced that the Cabinet approved US$4 million
more to subsidize the fuel costs for the months of May, June and July
in the province of Panama and the city of Colon.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is providing for an increase of US$
50 million in its operating costs for 2009 caused by the increase in
fuel prices, reported the administrator Alberto Aleman Zubieta. In 2007,
the fuel costs of the ACP amounted to US$85 million rose to US$103 million
and for next year will be US$153 million, Aleman Zubieta said. |
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New Bocas hostal popular
with surfers and backpackers |
Pep Casals with guests and the administrattor of
the Gran Kahuna Hostal.
Budget travelers in Bocas del Toro have a new haven. From the street,
the new Gran Kahuna Hostal looks like a private club house, with its
colorful couches, hammocks and curvaceous bar. Inside the common area,
proprietor Pep Casals of Barcelona has decorated with surf boards, rich
colors and hung up a big flat screen TV for his guests.
“This place is really for surfers, but we like for high-quality,
cool people to come in too. They can stay here, use the common kitchen,
feel at home. People are liking it because right now everything is new,
and we do it with love,” says Casals. He is offering a special
introductory rate of $10 per person, which includes a bunk in one of
eight rooms that sleep six people each, common showers with warm water,
15 minutes of Internet and a spot in one of the hammocks overlooking
the main road in Bocas Town.
The hostel is in an old building which Casals and his team have refurbished
with rich woods and bright colors, functional furnishings and his signature
“hang ten” surfer-hand logo. In the future, the Gran Kahuna
will offer bicycle rental, laundry service, a boat and a formal information
desk. For now, the policy is “just ask” for advice from
Casals himself or any member of his amicable staff. He has lived in
Bocas for three years and is also the owner of the Iguana bar in town.
Call 757-9038 or visit www.grankahunabocas.com |
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Regional action over
rising food prices
The agricultural ministers of Central America met in Panama
to seek policies that encourage the production of rice, maize
and beans in the region. The decision comes in the wake of rising
food prices. The countries of the region will contribute US$560
million for the plan. Panama has set aside US$174 million.
Investigations on the impact of the high cost of living in
Panama and food insecurity, show that the minimum wage of workers
would have to be increased by 50 percent for them to gain access
to products of the basic family food basket, according to economist
Juan Jovane.
A further increase in the cost of the basic family food basket
took place in March this year according to the Ministry of Economy
and Finance, which amounts to 1.2% monthly and 20.9% per annum.
The average price of all 50 food items measured by the institution
came to US$246.79 and this represents the third consecutive
hike of the year.
The high cost of fertilizers and fuel has, affected especially
the highland farmers. “The reality is that under current
conditions, it is likely to endanger the food security of Panama,
as it is not profitable to continue producing,” said a
representative of a farmers organization.
For the third time recently the employee associations at the
University of Panama, faculty and student groups closed the
Transisthmian Highway, to protest the high cost of living. |
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Panama fencer in 2008 Summer
Olympics
Jessica Jimenez will represent Panama in the 2008 Summer Olympic
Games in Beijing, China in the fencing event. She recently won
the gold medal in the qualifying tournament in Mexico against
14 other fencers from the region. |
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AmSoc elects new board |
In late April the American Society of Panama (AmSoc) held their annual
elections at Restaurante Rino’s. Here are the results of the elections,
in alphabetical order. Elected to a two year term on the Board: Sandra
Abell, John Beavers, Robert Emerick, Cedric Gittens, Marilyn Johnson.
Elected to a one year term on the Board: Phil Edmonston. Chosen for
a one year term as an Alternate Board member: Aaron Jimenez, William
E. Mariano, Starr McCamant, Genetta Staple-Ward, Joe Pulvino, Pascale
Schwander.
These newly elected board members will join the following board members
serving out their last year: Charles Garcia, Eunice Greaves, Thomas
R. Lord Jr., Rita Sosa. The U.S. Embassy appointed representative on
the board: Michael R. Fraser.
The new board will meet on Wednesday, May 7 and together by secret
ballot will choose the Officer’s of the AmSoc for 2008-2009. That
new board directors will be installed at the upcoming Installation Night
Silent Auction at the Plaza Paitilla Inn Hotel in Paitilla on May 29.
Visit www.amsoc.com |
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You're invited... The Terrace
Grand Opening |
Anna Burkill and Giovanni Gil, the owners of the brand new Terrace
Bar in Panama City, are proud to present the grand opening of their
bar and restaurant on Calle Ricardo Arias in the heart of the banking
area in El Cangrejo. The Terrace is located next to the longstanding
Costa Azul restaurant and neighbors the Panama Marriott. Join them to
celebrate the grand opening on Saturday, May 3, 2008 beginning at 6:00
p.m. The spacious, open-air bar and restaurant is the latest new construction
in the area and features a casual metropolitan design blending architectural
features of old and new Panama, engineered by Clive Burkill. The Terrace
offers an inviting and convivial atmosphere for casual dining and visiting
with friends. Enjoy a wide variety of tropical drinks and an extensive
food menu including sandwiches, empanadas or delicious steaks grilled
on the barbecue. The Terrace expects to become the gathering spot for
both tourists and local businessmen and women. The Terrace will be open
every day from 11:00 a.m. To 3:00 a.m. |
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Panama reaches
eastern markets
Panama recently had
a stand in The
Singapore Fair.
During the latter part of April, Panama had a stand in Singapore’s
International Food and Hotel Asia Fair where Panamanian food
products as well as promotional publications were on display
to promote the country in the international marketplace |
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