Ricardo Martinelli Will Review New (Bogus) "Decentralization" Law

By SANDRA ALICIA RIVERA for La Prensa - President-elect Ricardo Martinelli said he would review the new "decentralization" law because the money earned by the Panama Canal can not go straight into the hands of the municipalities without any kind of oversight. The law, approved last Saturday by the National Assembly, establishes that the money from the Program of Communitarian Development (Prodec) will pass without any kind of restriction or limitation to the provincial councils, which - in the government that takes effects starting on 1 July 2009 - will be dominated by the Partido Revolucionario Democrático. “This is not the way the Prodec was structured, which should be respected, so that they can not steal the money generated by the Panama Canal; what's more, there are serious problems in education and health that can not be fixed at the level of the municipalities," he said. He added that they will review the new law in order for it to be adapted into a true form of decentralization. It should not be something used to poorly spend "the funds generated from the Panama Canal, because what we do not want is for them to steal the money," he said. President-elect Martinelli made his statements in an event where he was handing over scholarships to 2,020 primary, secondary, and university students in the province of Chiriquí and the Ngäbe Buglé region. Martinelli came to Chiriquí accompanied by the Minister of Education (designate) Lucy Molinar; the Minister of Social Development (designate) Guillermo Ferrufino, and the future First Lady of Panama Marta de Martinelli. (See Comments)

Editor's Comment: Well, so much for trying to take the "high road." The PRD, in a last-ditch effort to flat out steal the money from the Panama Canal, pushed through this "decentralization" package of crap at the last minute. Martinelli should have just said "it's complete and total bullshit and we will overturn this new law in about thirty seconds after we take over." When Martin Torrijos was president he would regularly and routinely visit every community and listen to them state their lists of priorities. We want to build this road first, and then that school, and then this bridge. He would (himself) make a list with pencil and paper, and at the end of these meetings the results became the working road map for that particular community. Martin Torrijos knows the power of coming into town with a bag full of cash to spend on community projects, and he didn't want to hand that same power over to Martinelli to take over. So, they came up with this scheme to pass the Prodec money straight to the (really friggin' corrupt) local mayors and town councils. Yeah, great plan guys. Or rather, nice try...

‘Dinero del Prodec no puede estar sin vigilancia’

Ricardo Martinelli LA PRENSA/Sandra Rivera

SANDRA ALICIA RIVERA DAVID, CHIRIQUÍ panorama@prensa.com

El presidente electo, Ricardo Martinelli, dijo que revisará la nueva ley de descentralización, porque el dinero del Canal de Panamá no debe quedar sin vigilancia en manos de los municipios.

La ley, aprobada el pasado sábado por la Asamblea Nacional, establece que el dinero del Programa de Desarrollo Comunitario (Prodec) pasará sin ningún tipo de restricción o limitación a los consejos provinciales, los cuales –en el gobierno que empieza el 1 de julio– estarán dominados por el Partido Revolucionario Democrático.

“Esta no es la forma como se estructuró el Prodec, eso se debe respetar, para que no se estén robando la plata del Canal; además, hay serios problemas en educación y salud, y no puede ser que el Municipio se encargue de estas reparaciones”, enfatizó.

Reiteró que hay que revisar la legislación para que se adecúe a una verdadera descentralización. No debe ser algo que se utilice para malgastar “nuevamente los fondos del Canal, porque lo que no se quiere es que se roben la plata”.

Las declaraciones del Presidente electo se dieron ayer en la entrega de 2 mil 20 becas a estudiantes de primaria, secundaria y universidad de la provincia de Chiriquí y la comarca Ngäbe Buglé.

Martinelli llegó a Chiriquí acompañado de la ministra designada de Educación, Lucy Molinar; el ministro de Desarrollo Social designado, Guillermo Ferrufino, y la futura primera dama, Marta de Martinelli.