Panama's Comptroller General has launched audits of companies where the state holds shares, due to a decline in dividends. In 2015, the state received $115 million, but by 2024, this amount dropped to $83 million, despite the country's economy growing by $30 billion. Comptroller Anel Flores noted that this discrepancy prompted the review.
«For me, it was incongruous to see how the state's share of these revenues was shrinking while the country was growing», Flores said on TVN-2.
The audit aims to determine how profits are managed in companies with state participation and verify if the country's income matches its stake. Meanwhile, the office is conducting audits of local governments, with several cases already referred to the Public Ministry.
«We have many completed audits in the Public Ministry. It's not about putting people in jail for the sake of it, but about verifying with certainty if there was misuse of public funds», Flores emphasized.
The watchdog is also monitoring the National Assembly, reviewing the budget, the number of employees, and the attendance control system. An opinion has been requested from the Administration Prosecutor's Office regarding exceptions that allow some officials to skip clocking in and out. Flores mentioned that staff numbers have increased, though many new contracts involve lower salaries.
«If you don't clock in, you don't get paid. I don't think anyone can decide who clocks in and who doesn't», he added.
