3 Year Report From President Varela

[Keith Woolford]

President Varela's address to the National Assembly on Saturday outlined his government's accomplishments and responded to his critics.

President Varela reaffirms to the country his commitment with respect to the law and transparency

Saturday, 01 of July of 2017  |      Redacción   |   Tamara Sousa/Josué García/Napoleón Torres Share

 

 

"With three years of government, I ratify with actions my commitment to bring order and have an honest government. I recognized that it has not been an easy task and that carrying it out has taken longer time than I expected because the public treasury had suffered prejudice as never seen before”, he said.

President Juan Carlos Varela reaffirmed this 1 July, that after three years of management, his commitment to building a democratic State, transparent and efficient in which the resources of the People are invested with probity, social criteria and equity.

"With three years of government, I ratify with actions my commitment to bring order and have an honest government. I recognized that it has not been an easy task and that carrying it out has taken longer time than I expected because the public treasury had suffered prejudice never seen before”, he said.

The President reiterated that this commitment was not only a campaign promise since, “my words have become numbers, hundreds of millions of balboas of savings to the Panamanian State, which have allowed to carry more works for the People”.

"The vision of my Administration is to work in an orderly, responsible and planned way so as not to bequeath to our country works loaded with over price costs and commissions that have been discovered, or to leave the works at risk, so many of them unsustainable and that have caused enormous losses to the national heritage”, he said.

Therefore, he announced that in the coming weeks he will be presenting an initiative to resume the debate and have a law on public procurement that prevents situations such as those that have occurred in the country, happen again.

Social peace and institutional stability

The President said that at the national level no demonstration has been repressed with violence, or with tear gas”, no threats or offenses have been made, nor much less anyone's privacy has been violated”.

He added that the persecution has been replaced by a government that listens with respect, that debate in the field of ideas and that knows how to correct, since to amend is not a sign of weakness but of a good government.

"With my three years of management, I can reaffirm with authority that I did not get to this position to do business or benefit my friends, I came to work, I put the country back on the right track and I came to serve all Panamanians with respect and equity, regardless of their political affiliation or sympathy”, he said.

He assured that he will not be remembered for accumulated fortunes, but if not for having restored to the country peace and honesty in the administration of their resources and for the millions of lives that will transform thanks to the projects being built next to everyone.

"Today, at the beginning of my fourth year of government, I assure you that at the end of my presidential term, the results of our administration will silence the political criticism we have received from day one and will walk the streets of my country with my head held high, having fulfilled the mission of serving for which I was chosen”, he said.

Achievements and Challenges

• At the end of this administration, a more secure country will be built, with more than 2,000 kilometers of new roads, more than 100 thousand social housing, a new metro line, a renovated city of Colón, 50 new schools and all the works developed in a transparent manner.
• The country lives important moments, our democracy is consolidated and the institutionality is strengthened. Independent professionals have been appointed in different institutions of supervision and control, such as the Attorney General, Honorable Mrs. Kenya Porcell, who is allowing the recovery of hundreds of millions of balboas belonging to the Panamanian people.
• In 36 months we have achieved a significant decrease in homicides and impact offenses, recovering more than 5 thousand firearms and prosecuting more than 2,600 gang members.
• The creation of the Task Force Eagle has managed to decrease the figures and we will increase their strength units from 300 to 500. The result is already felt in the city of Colón.
• In 2016 thanks to the effort and sacrifice of our security forces, we managed to seize 70% of the total drug that was exported to our country.
• Along with the 25 thousand men and women who make up the security forces, Panama will become the safest country in Latin America, which you deserve.
• We eliminated the Fairs of Crisol de Razas that incentivated irregular migration and replaced them with an adequate mechanism that obliges the immigrants to formalize themselves in the economy, through their incorporation into the social security system and the payment of taxes.
• In addition, in order to ensure that migration flows are regular, orderly and secure, we restrict the length of stay in the country for tourists of certain nationalities, suspend registrations of new requests for extraordinary regularization and we have strengthen the exchange of intelligence information, and alerts with friendly countries.
• Our expanded Canal is functioning efficiently and the contributions have served to make a historical salary increase to public officers and to continue developing works of public infrastructure and social interest.
• To support and promote sport and peaceful coexistence, we are building 6 new stadiums and more than 100 sports courts and facilities nationwide. And this week we began the renovation of the National Theater.
• In Colón, with a Free Port and its Cruise Terminals in operation, as well as a modern natural gas plant that will produce clean energy will generate well paid jobs for present and future generations.
• We are moving towards an integrated and efficient metropolitan transportation system, with the arrival of new trains for Line 1 of the Metro, the construction of Line 2 and the purchase of new buses that will arrive in September, as well as the unification of the passage of the Metro with the Mi Bus and the start of operations of the inversion of lanes in both Corridors.
• We expanded the coverage of the Universal Scholarship to more than 600 thousand children, which helps to avoid dropping out of school.
• Through "Panama Bilingual", we have trained more than 3,700 public school docents in English as a second language; benefiting more than 159,300 students nationwide, including 57 thousand primary school children who are already receiving science lessons taught in English.
• We promote the program "Zero Surgical Arrears" so that the Panamanians who need surgery are practiced in a timely manner. To date, about 500 Panamanians have already had surgery. Within 6 months, there will not be a single surgery pending in the Public Health System.
• The preventive health census has made it possible to know the health status of more than 180 thousand people, identifying the prevalent diseases in the population, which met on time can be managed in time with three basic medicines.
• The project of sanitation of the Bay in Panama City and Arraiján also advances, as well as the construction of the sewage systems of David and Santiago.
• This month we began construction of the Howard and Gamboa water treatment plants, in addition to the expansion of the Chilibre and Sabanitas plants; that together to the hydraulic rings north and east, will allow solving once and for all the difficulties of supplying potable water in Panama and Colon.
• In the Agricultural Sector we are close to achieving self sufficiency in the rice production, we must follow the same path in other areas such as milk, through programs of technical and financial support to the national producer.
• We are promoting the Zero Poverty Plan and the implementation of the "Multidimensional Poverty Index" that will allow us to continue to refine and focus the social programs of the State to meet the sustainable development objectives of the 2030 global agenda.
• Our provinces and comarcas are progressing with an investment that exceeds  4.7 thousand million in the interior of the country and to bring emblematic projects nationwide with equity and provide equal opportunities for all Panamanians.
• In foreign policy we have taken important steps. Advances in the transparency of our financial system are becoming day by day more recognized internationally.

"We established diplomatic relations with China, a historical step taken in a transparent manner, strategically evaluated on the basis of mutual respect and the permanent pursuit of the well being of the Panamanian people”, he said.