Citizens are raising the question of why and for what purpose institutions are created and people without the necessary training and commitment to efficiently perform their functions are placed in charge. It is clear that the President of the Republic cannot supervise all the personnel that make up the different state institutions, but it is necessary to have optimal control over the efficiency and quality of the services. In the public sphere, other questions are raised: why and for what so many international trips paid for by the people, if they do not translate into benefits for the population? The people, with justifiable reasons, demand that the authorities pay attention to the needs for which taxpayers pay with their taxes the salaries, trips and perks of high-ranking officials. A police officer handles a case on a public road in Panama. Citizens residing in the isthmus country are increasingly complaining about the growing disorder of noisy motor-vehicle traffic in the cities, especially in the capital, with its consequent damage to public health and loss of human life. The disorder in driving, the total disregard for traffic signals, high speeds, noisy exhausts, high environmental pollution and traffic jams with their economic costs constitute damage to the people's already fragile health, which, to top it all off, does not have a health system coherent with its needs. The annual increase in motor vehicles is unsustainable with the same streets of decades ago and in poor condition, all of which contributes to the increase in crime and accidents with a marked economic cost. The loss of human lives in accidents should generate concern and an increase in interest in the design of a true public safety. On the other hand, the issue of insured and retired people returns to the public forum, who have paid into the Social Security Fund (CSS) to receive careful attention, medicines and adequate services. However, if the merger between the CSS and the Ministry of Health (Minsalud) takes place, insured and retired people will be harmed, because in addition to paying taxes, they pay fees to that institution to be treated and receive their medicines that are becoming scarcer, while the state squanders resources even on unnecessary trips. Regarding the surveillance and protection that the State must provide to its citizens in the streets and places of residence, no police patrols are seen and the few police who appear in the neighborhoods travel in air-conditioned cars and use cell phones, which, according to the citizenry, does not allow them to provide an adequate and efficient service to those who pay their salaries. The citizenry asks: why was the Transit and Land Transportation Authority (ATTT) created, which seems absent? In such incidents, motorcycles often appear, whose drivers involved flee the scene.
Panama's Chaos: Traffic Boom, Corruption and Inefficient Governance
Panamanian citizens express dissatisfaction with the growth of traffic chaos, corruption among officials, and the inefficiency of public services such as the police and health system. They demand accountability and real improvements.
