Abandoned Public Works in Panama: Criminal Consequences and Social Debt

For lawyer Basilio González, the abandonment of public works can have criminal consequences. According to the Ministry of Health (Minsa), the project is under evaluation for its liquidation and a new contract. In Los Pozos, a school was abandoned by the contractor when 70% was already built, after an initial investment of $5.8 million. Although the work is in progress and reports a 50.76% progress, residents continue to travel to Chepo or the capital city in case of an emergency. The work records 83% progress and it is expected to be delivered soon. It is currently under cost analysis for the assignment of contracts. President José Raúl Mulino already warned days ago that they will get tired of seeing him inaugurating works. Meanwhile, the director of Infrastructure of Minsa, Abdiel Escobar, recognized that the inherited projects are presented with the progress they had at the time of their paralysis, but warned that the prolonged abandonment has caused structural damage and loss of materials, which reduces the real progress when the works are reactivated. The school La Primavera, in Santiago, only reaches 57% progress, while the new IPT of Santiago remains paralyzed due to legal and contractual problems. Health and education have been the most affected in the last decade due to the abandonment and paralysis of works. In Darién, the Hospital of Metetí symbolizes an unfulfilled promise that has been dragging on for several years. Silva hopes that this time the work will be completed, as it represents a relief for the inhabitants of Darién. If it had been completed, it would have already benefited more than 3,000 people. 'You will get tired of seeing me programming and inaugurating works, rescuing works during my government, even though that displeases many who bet on finishing me off,' stated the president. While the files are being reviewed, the contracts are being renegotiated and the new bids are being announced, thousands of citizens continue to wait. In the health sector, the situation was critical. In cases of negligence, article 340 provides for sanctions of 3 to 6 years. In Herrera, the remodeling of the Rico Cedeño stadium went from $5.4 million to almost $11 million after contractual addendums. The unfinished works not only represent a financial problem for the State, but a social debt that accumulates over time and, for many communities, still has no expiration date. And more than 10 years have passed for the light to start to be seen in some projects. In Chiriquí, the Ciudad Deportiva de David has been incomplete since 2013, becoming another symbol of half-kept promises. Each stopped work is not just a figure in a report: it is a community that continues without medical attention, students who take classes in precarious conditions, and families that see the years pass without clear answers. Data collected by Panamá América indicates that, in the different provinces, from Bocas del Toro to Colón, there are at least twenty unfinished works. The Educational Center of La Arena, with an investment of $9.9 million, is stopped at 60%. The Health Center of Curundú, valued at 15 million, was received completely abandoned and now awaits a new bidding process. The Health Center of Río Grande, in Coclé, records 62% progress and an investment of $1,430,370.21 million, after the paralysis and abandonment of the contracting company since 2016. He assures that, although doctors and nurses did their best, the lack of supplies and the growth of the population made it impossible to provide adequate care. For students and teachers, this translates into makeshift spaces and bad conditions for the learning process. These projects were born with the vision of improving the quality of life of the communities, but over the years they became a monument to neglect. In civil engineering, the sewerage of Changuinola, with a cost of $36.5 million, and the sanitation of the city of David, one of the most expensive projects in the country, with an investment of $297 million and only 60% progress, stand out. Both, in Colón, have been unfinished since 2011, despite presenting progress above 60%. He recalled that article 338 of the Penal Code penalizes embezzlement when there is misappropriation of public funds, with sentences of up to 15 years in prison if the damage exceeds $100,000. Luis Silva, selective transporter, remembers that before the announcement of the construction of the Metetí hospital, the health situation in Darién was critical. Similar cases are repeated with the Minsa-Capsi of Nueva Italia, with an investment of $13 million, and the Minsa-Capsi of Cuipo, for $17 million. The paralysis of projects also hits the education system. Who is responsible?